Ghost in the Darkness
by Wahyah
Summary: The events that occur no longer seem to be coincidence, and Sakura has found herself in the midst of it all. It's no longer safe to venture out when it's a full moon, and those who do will either die or they will be next to be put on trial. All she wanted was a more adventurous life. Be careful what you wish for. AU Eventual SasuSaku and rated M for violence and language
1. Break Away

The moon glowed in an ominous presence. The landscape grew eerie, the shadows of the trees seeming to stretch further as each minute passed. Their bare branches appeared more like hands stretching to grab onto anything, or anyone. The autumn breeze was no more and the breath of winter had taken its place. Snow blanketed the ground, bringing a sense of balance to this otherwise intimidating, empty forest. There was a pathway to exit this somber village, and it was the only way to leave.

In the dead of night, a young woman crept out, seeking a more adventurous life. She had taken one of the horses out of her family's stables and left towards the path. She had nothing but her bow, quiver, a thick, warm parka, and a satchel with a little bread to last until she reached the next village. She thrust the reigns forward, signaling the horse to move from its trot to a sprint. The cold wind stung her cheeks as the horse galloped, and her eyes began to tear up from the wind. At this moment, she wasn't feeling any regrets or any form of a conscience by continuing with this act of rebellion. The steed's pace began to quicken, causing her hair to whip around and the wind to whistle in her ears. For a while, all she heard was the sounds of the horse's hooves crunching in the snow and the jingle of a few coins in her satchel.

She wasn't exactly sure where she was going to go, but she didn't care. Once she felt like she was a safe distance from the village, she pulled on the reins and the horse returned to a steady trot. Of course she was a little afraid because she knew that if she were to be caught by someone who knew her, she would be forced to return. She snorted at her own thoughts and dismissed them. She wouldn't allow that to happen. She couldn't. Not if she wanted to lead her own life. Her fears faded away as she became anxious and almost eager to face new dangers. She was tired of being protected and watched all of the time and she most definitely did not want to be a house-wife; she couldn't even imagine herself as such. Instead of learning to cook, clean, and be a "good wife," she indulged herself in learning how to fight with a sword and hunt. It was frowned upon by the other girls and older women. At times, even her mother muttered about her probably having been meant to be born a man. She, though, didn't see anything wrong with being a girl who knows how to fight and hunt, even though she was ridiculed for her boyish behavior. Not that it bothered her; their opinions didn't matter too much to her.

Her thoughts were broken when her horse suddenly stopped and reared back. She gripped the reigns with all her might so she wouldn't fall off, and when her horse finally settled down on the ground again she patted its side to let it know that everything was okay, looking around and trying to spot what had startled the horse. Her eyes wandered in frenzy, and when they finally found what the culprit was, she drew her bow and grabbed an arrow from her quiver. Two lone wolves stared back at her menacingly. Their amber eyes glowed and reflected the moonlight, giving them a near demonic presence. The larger one had midnight black fur, and it began to bare its teeth when it saw her draw her bow back. Her heart began to race and her horse fidgeted its feet, ready to run at the moment's notice. The other, smaller wolf, with a coat that matched the crimson leaves in autumn, walked protectively in front of the larger wolf. She lowered her bow, and the black wolf stopped growling at her and whined. They weren't going to attack, she realized. They were just roaming, and her horse was startled by their presence. The wolves turned away and sprinted back into the bare woods.

She watched them leave until she couldn't see them anymore. She clicked her mouth and, the horse's ear flicking in response, it began to walk again. She had seen many wolves venture into her village and take livestock, but there were never any incidents that involved humans. Although the reputation that many people expressed about them still made her weary. A loud howl broke through the night, and she smiled. She liked their songs, and she still felt safe when she listened closely and knew that the howl was far away.

She continued on the path until dawn began to break, when she felt a sting in her heart as she knew her parents would find that she was missing and would begin to search frantically for her. She shook her head. She shouldn't feel guilty about leaving; it was her own life, right? She was going to leave soon anyways; she was seventeen summers old. Nobody needed to look after her anymore; she wasn't a useless, weak little girl anymore. She lifted her head in a pride, feeling better by her confident thoughts. Then the thoughts of an annoying blond friend drifted across her mind.

"Naruto…" She whispered.

She loved him like a brother because he was always there for her. She could have fallen for him, if it were not for the beautiful girl he fell in love with: Hinata. She was a close friend of her too. She was the exact definition of beauty and grace, while Naruto, being a complete moron at times, was almost blind to Hinata's feelings for him. It had taken Sakura ages to thoroughly convince him that Hinata was head over heels for him. She wasn't jealous of Hinata, she was happy for her, because Hinata was happy.

Another face flashed across her mind. This time it was of a beautiful, obnoxious blonde headed girl with long hair. Her best friend, Ino was more like a sister than she could have ever wished for. She shook her head again trying to be rid of all these thoughts that were making her want to turn back around. She couldn't dwell on the past any longer because that's all it was going to be to her now, the past. No "if"s, "and"s, or "but"s.

The sun was beginning to rise, but the temperatures still remained icy. Her breath still fogged, and she had grown tired. Relief flooded her vision when she saw a post stating that a village was up ahead, hopefully containing an inn for her to stay. Sakura knew she couldn't stay there long, because it would only allow the worried search party to catch up with her. She would only stay long enough to get enough rest to continue on her journey.

She could see smoke up ahead from the chimneys of a few houses. Soon, the whole village came into view, fairly larger than her home village. Even though daylight had just broken, people were already bustling to and fro. Children were throwing snow at each other while their mothers eyed them carefully. The buildings were small, but each had a different structure to them. Some were made of wood and had a flat roof; others were brick with chimneys and had a more regal appeal to them. She assumed the ones with brick were wealthier, there being so few. There was a well in the center of the village and some women were already waiting to draw some water from it.

People glanced at her as she rode on the path, but they didn't pass any second glances. They simply saw her as another weary traveler. Just a few buildings away, she saw an inn with a post in front to tie her horse to. The front door swung open and an elderly man stumbled out, but he couldn't regain his balance in time, and fell. Sakura was a bit concerned for him, so she hopped off her horse and went to his aid. His face was buried in the snow and was clearly heavily intoxicated. He began to laugh, so she helped him up to make sure that he wasn't hurt. He had long, white hair that reached down to his waist-line, and was poorly dressed for the weather. He wore a red long sleeve shirt, but it was tattered and worn with holes; his pants were gray and in the same condition. Lastly, his shoes had holes in them exposing his feet to the harsh cold. He clumsily brushed off the snow that clung onto his pants and shirt. Sakura was still holding onto his left arm, afraid if she let go that he would fall down again. He realized that he was being held steady and looked at Sakura with a smile across his face.

"S'anks for he'pin me up." He slurred, and began to stumble away, hopefully for his home. She blinked as she watched him walk away and her head snapped back to the door when she heard it open again. Now stood another man with spiky, white hair that covered his right eye. He had a cloth that covered his mouth and nose, and was better dressed than the older, drunken man; she assumed that he was the inn-keeper.

"Sorry about that," he mused, "He's a regular that comes to the bar in here. He's harmless, really."

"You let him drink all night?" She asked bewildered.

"No, he passed out a while ago. He drank enough to keep him in that state for a good while." He scratched his head nonchalantly.

She felt a warm breath on her face and shivered. Her horse had walked up beside her and nudged her. The man seemed to take notice of this and raised his hand up.

"Sorry little lady, unless you're staying at the inn, you can't tie your horse up here." She had been right; he was the inn-keeper.

"I plan on staying here for a little while." She began to fish out her coins from her satchel. "How much for a room?"

"20 per night." He answered. She walked up to the man and placed the coins in his hands. He looked down at the coins, pocketed them, and turned around. "I'll wait for you behind the counter to give you a key. Go ahead and tie your horse up."

She walked her horse over to the post and tied it securely so he wouldn't get loose. She knew that even if he did get loose, he would be obedient and stay; she had practically raised him from a fowl, after all. It nodded its head and snorted, and she giggled in response, patting the side of his face.

She turned back around and walked inside the inn. It was fairly nice for a worn down inn, she thought to herself. The floors were aged, but there didn't seem to be any holes in them. There were chairs with skins covering them set around a small bar that had a little alcohol behind on the shelves in the back. A fire was blazing in the center of a pit in the middle of the floor, with benches around for people to sit and warm themselves with. There was another counter in the lobby area where the man had set her key out for her.

She picked up the key, looking around to see where the man went.

"Your room is the last one on the left." He spoke from behind her.

She jumped, startled by his sudden presence. She heard him chuckle as she turned her head to glace behind her. His visible eye was crinkling in amusement.

"Thanks…" She muttered as she walked away towards her room.

She opened her door and gazed around. There was a small bed resting on a wooden frame, the covers on it looking like they were made of warm buckskin, but there wasn't a pillow to lay her head on. There was a small dresser to place extra clothing, but other than that there wasn't anything else in the room. It was still decent for a cheap inn. She sighed and sat down on the bed to kick off her boots. She sat them neatly on the side and took off her parka, then placed it and her satchel in the top dresser drawer. She moved over to the wall to place her bow and quiver against it. She shivered, having only left on a grey long-sleeved shirt and black pants that didn't provide much warmth. She went to the desk and blew out the candle. Pulling back the blanket, she laid down, trying to ease her mind into slumber. She knew she couldn't rest long, but any rest was better than none.

**…**

She awoke a few hours later, sat up, and glanced around the room. It was still dark, but she could see the light from the fire through the little cracks in the door. She moved her legs to the side and stood up to stretch. The floor felt cold on her bare feet. She figured it would be a good time to go ahead and get on the move again. Yawning, she put on her boots, parka, and satchel. Then she latched her quiver and grabbed her bow. She looked in her satchel to see how much money she still had.

"One hundred-twenty…" She murmured. It was a decent amount, but it would be spent soon if she didn't find a way to make money. She was a great hunter with her bow and she knew skins were even more valuable in the winter. The problem was finding someone willing to trade or buy from her. People usually didn't buy skins from women; it was just the way things worked.

This village was a night's travel away from her home village, so she knew she was pressed for time. She had to keep moving to keep safe from being found. She opened her door and used her key to lock it again. Through the windows it appeared to be mid-day, so she had to get moving in order to stay ahead. She knew Naruto wouldn't give up, and even if his horse became exhausted, he would continue searching on foot. She placed the key on the counter and then proceeded to walk outside.

The temperatures were colder than yesterday and she shivered, every breath she took fogging. She looked over at her horse, and noticed that he had been fed, bits of hay scattered around his area. She mentally noted to thank the inn-keeper in the future as she untied the reigns. The horse snorted and nudged her shoulder. She pulled herself up onto the saddle and continued on a pathway out the village. Her horse's steps crunched loudly through the thin layer of ice covering the snow. The path that was leading her out lead to a bridge over a frozen river and around it was blanketed with snow, making the picture serene. As much as she would have loved to gaze at it longer, she had to keep moving forward.

As she walked, she noticed that the trees had large icicles hanging off of their limbs; if she wasn't careful, they could be extremely hazardous. She clicked her mouth and the horse began to gallop, kicking up snow as it picked up speed. The steps were leaving deep tracks in the snow. She realized that she would need to find a way to deter her pursuers from their course, but she feared getting herself lost in the process. She decided she would continue straight for a while, and then look for a game trail in the woods, and double back. Hopefully, they wouldn't catch on and continue heading deeper into the woods.

It wasn't long until she spotted one, and she felt like luck was on her side. She pulled the reigns to the right and the horse followed her instruction. The sun was still in the middle of the sky, so she had time to make a good distance before doubling back. To her surprise, the game trail led to a smooth dirt path. It wasn't a natural occurrence though; someone had to have cleared the snow. But why? Deep in her mind she knew she didn't really want to find out. She decided to go ahead and turn around. Then, there was a crunch of snow nearby; her horse grunted and started to back up. She slowly began to take her bow off her back, looking around and hoping to spot anything moving in the brush. To her relief, it was a doe with a fawn. They stopped and stared at her wide-eyed.

There was another crunch of snow, but this time it sounded to the far left of the fawn. A streak of black ran across the path, taking the fawn with it and leaving the mother lying on the ground motionless. She gasped with disbelief. She didn't know what had just happened, but she didn't want to stick around to find out. She jerked down on the reigns and the horse didn't hesitate to start running full speed back down the path. Her heart was racing at the sight of the beast. The creature seemed to be unnaturally gargantuous. She found her way off to a game trail that was farther down the road than the trail she first turned on and veered right to keep the horse galloping full speed. She was terrified; the speed alone was unlike any creature she had any seen. She was afraid of being its next meal, so she leaned down to reduce wind resistance, hoping it would help the horse run a little faster.

She kept that pace for a while until her horse began showing signs of exhaustion, but she wasn't ready to slow down just yet.

"Come on, just a little more." She urged, but her horse began to slow its pace. She turned her head and she didn't see anything chasing her, but she still kept her guard up. Her horse's breaths were short and rapid, and she was almost worried about it collapsing from exhaustion. She couldn't stop and rest, she had only been out for a few hours and the possibility of something chasing her was very real. Maybe she was being paranoid and there wasn't anything chasing her after-all. In all fairness, she wasn't even sure what had attacked the deer. For all she knew it could've just been a small bear. She calmed her nerves with that idea and her heart slowed its pace. The horse finally slowed down to a walk, but remained strong and kept going. "When we get to the next village, we'll stay longer so you can rest." She promised her horse. She felt a little guilty by over-working him. He snorted somehow seeming like he understood her.

It wasn't long before the sun began to set, and the sky turned to a beautiful array of colors. She had made a decent amount of distance from the last village, and signs of another soon came into view. This village seemed to be about twice the size of the other one, perhaps big enough to be called a town. The snow on the path began to smooth out into cobblestone and her horse's shoes began to click on the ground with each step. Her horse even seemed to relax as soon as his feet were out of the cold snow. The buildings in this town were larger than the previous village. It was busy with crowds of people, all making small talk here and there. Although, the atmosphere still seemed to be the same. As she continued deeper into the town, signs of poverty were showing. There were a few people panhandling and she even saw a woman follow a man around, begging for any spare coin. Her heart felt heavy at the scene; if she could spare any, she would, but she couldn't allow her feelings to get in the way of her mission.

She continued to wander for an inn, but couldn't seem to find one. She saw a small forge on the side and there a man was working. She hopped off of her horse and held onto the reigns, leading it over with her.

"Uhm, excuse me, sir?" She questioned cautiously, hoping he wouldn't be upset with her disturbing his work. He didn't seem to hear her as the hiss of hot steel being submerged in cold water filled the air. She opened her mouth to ask again, but he cut her off.

"What do you want?" He asked rather rudely.

"Could you please tell me where an inn is-"

He cut her off again, "A little farther down the road and to the right."

She would've scoffed, but she figured it wouldn't be a good idea to push it. He was at least kind enough to answer her question.

"Thanks…" She muttered sarcastically. She turned to the direction he had told her and began to walk down the road. Soon she spotted the inn. She was at least a little thankful that he had given her the right directions. She tied her horse to the post and walked inside. The inn was a lot larger than the other one, with two stories to it, but when she opened up the door, it was decorated similarly to the other. Although, the other one had a bit more class to it.

Along the walls there were the heads of hunted game. There was a fire pit, but there wasn't a fire going; instead, the light came from candles that were strewn in random places across the room. It didn't have a very welcoming feel to it, but she realized the whole town didn't seem very hospitable. There was a bar, although unlike the other it was filled to the roof with liquor. There wasn't anybody behind the other counter that held the keys to the rooms. She walked over to the counter and knocked on it.

"Hello? Anyone working here?" She asked. There were the sounds of shuffling and someone stepped out of the first room. The man was grizzly in appearance, and he looked like he was dealing with the symptoms of a hangover.

"Rooms are 30 a night." He stated without her even having to ask.

"_Well then, everyone is just dapper in this town aren't they_?" She thought to herself as she reached in her satchel to pull out some coins. If she was going to stay here for long, her money would be gone in four nights, and that was without the cost of food. She would have to find a way to make some money. She placed the money in the man's hand and he gave her the key. He didn't even bother to tell her which one was her room, so she had the joys of guessing which one was hers. She went to the third room on the right, and she guessed the right door. She heard the click of the door being unlocked and opened the door.

There was absolutely nothing in the room but the bed itself and a tattered old blanket. "So they can afford all that booze, but they couldn't bother with some nice furnishing?"She mumbled to herself.

She decided she wouldn't worry about money until tomorrow, when she would go around searching for some work. It was almost dusk anyways, and normally people would start to head inside. She wondered if it'd be a good idea to actually to try and hunt for some skins tomorrow, but the image of that creature stirred in her mind. She shivered from the thought. She did not want to confront anything like that again. She was certain that she was a good distance away from where the creature attacked, so she figured she might be safe for a while. She mentally made a note to ask if anyone had seen or heard anything like that. It was a harmless question really, and hopefully someone would not assume that she was just mental.

She placed her bow, quiver, and satchel by the wall. She left her parka on and just decided to lie down and sleep. She wanted this day over, and move onto the next. Already she had been almost attacked by two creatures, and she was praying that it didn't become a habit.

She felt like she had just fallen asleep when she heard a door fly open and frantic yelling.

"It's happened again!" She heard someone scream.

She jumped up, grabbed her bow and arrow, and opened up her door. A woman with brown hair in a pale green dress was standing in tears in the lobby, and standing next to her was the inn-keep holding onto a silver pistol.

"What happened, Ann?" The inn-keeper asked the woman.

She was sniveling as she tried to speak, "M-my husband and I were locking up the stables when it came out of nowhere."

"What came out of nowhere?" Sakura chimed into the conversation, curious if it was related to the creature she saw today.

"Oh, it were a creature from hell itself! A beast larger than any wolf that I had ever seen came and took my husband away." The woman began to cry some more at the memory of her husband being drug away right before her eyes.

"A wolf? Are you sure, Ann?" The inn-keeper asked her with impatience evident in his voice. Sakura noticed that in his left hand, she could see the gleam of bullets that had not yet been loaded into the gun. She was slightly concerned if he was going to go after the creature.

The woman named Ann nodded and sniffed. Sakura began to feel sorry for her, but she knew it was already too late if something was strong enough to drag a grown man off by itself. She choked down her own fears for a moment and looked at the inn-keeper.

"I'll come with you." Sakura spoke up again.

"What is the metal at the end of your arrow?" He asked.

"Silver, my father ma-"

He cut her off, "Good. Come on we don't have much time." He rushed out the door, and Sakura had no choice but to quickly follow if she didn't want to be left behind. As she stepped out the door, she saw a crowd of men waiting.

The inn-keeper cleared his throat, "Gentlemen, there has been another attack, but this time it was on one of our fellow men instead of our livestock. We're going on a wolf hunt!"

* * *

**AN: Been wanting to do a story like this for a long time. Please review even if you don't have a FF account. I'd really like to know what you think so far! ~Wahyah**


	2. First Moon

**AN: Got some response on the first chapter, but please review and tell me what you think. Anyways, a lot going on in this chapter, so pay close attention to detail. I also put in something, and I'm wondering if someone (other than my beta) can see what I did. ~Wahyah**

* * *

_ The moon doesn't judge  
She watches with envy but never holds a grudge  
The love of being free  
That's all I'll ever be  
They cry their hearts out every night  
But those who listen end up joining by the end of tonight_

* * *

They cheered in approval. Sakura wasn't sure what to say or do, so she waited for the inn-keeper to say something else. He never did; instead he started moving towards the woods with the crowd following him. She didn't hesitate to follow, but everyone paused when a loud howl broke. The bystanders that were watching the crowd form all fled to the safety of their homes. Sakura gulped, she was afraid of what was out there. She realized that it had to be the creature that she had seen that day. Had it followed her?

The hunting party started moving again, clenching their weapons so tightly their knuckles turned white. The amount of fear that they showed made Sakura unsure of her own capabilities, or even if she was capable of being of use. She drew an arrow from her quiver and placed it on the string of her bow, ready to draw it back if needed. Others with bows did the same, but one man was shaking so badly he dropped his arrow in the snow.

Nobody said a word as they walked. They even jumped at the sounds of their own feet crunching in the snow. Trained hunter that Sakura was, she knew that the creature wouldn't come after all of them head on. They would need to split up in order to even have a chance of seeing it. Predators were smart enough to wait for a straggler to go in for an attack. She didn't want to raise her voice to say anything, so she decided to slip away from the group making sure nobody would notice her absence.

She looked around, trying to see if she could see any tracks, but there were none. A feral creature couldn't possibly be smart enough to cover its tracks, but she still had to consider all of the possibilities. She looked around on the trees, and a little further ahead she saw something snagged in the bark of a fallen log. She walked over to inspect it. It was a small clump of black fur, and it looked like something had been trying to get away in a hurry. She peered over the other side of the log and gasped.

Along the backside, there were deep scratch marks all along the tree, and a pool of blood, with a small trail heading north. She was happy that she found a lead, but afraid that she discovered it alone. Her words caught in her mouth, but she feared that whatever it was would hear and come after her. She wasn't even sure if the hunting party was anywhere near her anymore, and crying out would be pointless if they couldn't come to her aid in time. She knew it was a bad idea that she broke away from the group. She thought about heading back, but she feared she would lose the trail that she had found. So, she decided to follow the blood trail.

The further she followed it, the more blood appeared around the surrounding areas. Trees were marked in it, as well as with deep claw marks in them much like the log. It was starting to make her feel nauseous. After a few more cautious steps, she heard a low gurgle. She tensed, and her heart began to race. She turned her head to the side to see the mutilated man leaning against a tree in a pool of blood. He was trying to reach out to her, seeming to mouth words for help. Sakura was trying to swallow the bile that began to rise in her throat; she felt like she was about to vomit.

She choked her fears away and decided to at least try and help him. His breaths were slow and labored. She knelt down beside him, pressing on his wounds to try to stop the bleeding. He reached out and grabbed onto her arm, leaving scratch marks down its length. His eyes were wide with fear, but he mouthed something that Sakura immediately understood.

_Run. _

Behind her, she heard a low growl that made her stomach jump. The man released his death grip on her arm, allowing her to take off in full sprint. She heard a blood-curdling scream from the man that had warned her. She didn't think she had ever run so quickly before. Behind her, she heard the rapid footsteps of pursuit. She didn't dare look back at the monstrosity that was chasing her. She took her bow and drew back the string. She possibly only had one shot; she couldn't afford to miss it. She knew she couldn't outrun the beast so, as she swiftly turned around, she held her breath to aim at the rapidly approaching wolf.

_Breathe out._

She released the bowstring and hit her target in the chest. It released an ungodly howl of pain and she was forced to cover her ears. Anger flashed through its eyes as it fell onto the ground withering and twitching in pain. Although there was a steam coming off of the wound in its chest, it was desperate to make one final attempt to attack her. It began crawling towards her, but only reached about halfway before it finally died. Her eyes were wide and she released the breath she didn't know she had been holding. She screamed as loudly as she could, hoping to alert the hunting party.

She heard their shouts off in the distance, and she knew that they had heard her. She looked back again at the creature that lay before her. It was unlike anything that she had ever seen. It was humanoid, with the limbs of a man, but the overall features of a wolf. Its tail seemed nearly two feet long and its claws looked like small knives. Its eyes were clouded over, a reassuring sign that it really was dead, but those eyes still seemed to be staring at her. Its midnight fur was glistening in the moonlight, and she felt compelled to touch to it, but she held her hand. That thing had just been chasing after her, fully intent on killing and devouring her.

It wasn't long until the hunting party found her, and when they did, they stood, flabbergasted at the sight. They were amazed that a woman had killed a creature that had the capability to rip apart a man like it was a piece of paper. The inn-keeper forced his way through the group and pocketed his gun. He looked over Sakura checking for any visible injuries. His eyes caught sight of the scratch marks on her arms, which had started to bleed just a little bit.

"Did it scratch you?!" He questioned with fear flashing in his eyes.

Sakura shook her head no, "No, I found the man, and he grabbed hold of my arm… He warned me that the wolf was behind me," She explained as tears began to form in her eyes, "he sacrificed his life to warn me."

The inn-keeper's aged face fell, burdened with the news, she assumed, that his friend was dead. He nodded in understanding, but muttered that he was relieved that she hadn't been attacked. He tore the sleeve of his shirt and wrapped her arm to stop the bleeding. She mouthed a silent thanks, still grieved that she couldn't help the man who saved her life.

The hunting party began to try and lift the beast, but immediately released it when the whole body began to hiss with steam. Slowly, the form turned back into a human, and all of the men assembled gasped as they recognized the person. The inn-keeper's face even showed his shock. Sakura looked to see the form of a woman lying in the snow where the wolf once was. One of the men in the group broke down to his knees at the sight and began to weep.

"Rebecca!" He wailed and leaned over the form. Instantly, the whole group turned on him.

"Did you know of this?" One of the elder men in the group demanded.

The man still wept but spoke in a whisper, "No. I did not…"

"Surely you must be lying!" The elder man exclaimed.

"Peace now Jeremiah, we all know Richard is an honest man. He would not lie of such things." The inn-keeper intervened.

"Bullshit! Luther, he must've known! He-"

The inn-keeper, Luther, Sakura realized, cut him off. "Do not falsely accuse this man." He glared at the man named Jeremiah, and he held his tongue.

Sniveling, the man named Richard removed his coat and placed it over his wife's body. He picked her up and began to carry her towards the town.

**…**

Two days had passed since the wolf incident. Luther, the inn-keeper, repaid her by giving her a month's stay free at the inn. She was still upset about the incident, and she felt bad for the man who had to come to terms with the fact that his wife was a werewolf, and that she was now dead. She planned on going to the funeral that was being held for both the woman and the man that saved her life. After all, she felt responsible, as she was the one who killed the woman and failed to save the man's life. The woman's husband didn't seem to hold any grudge towards her, though maybe that was just because the shock hadn't worn off yet that his wife was dead.

She found her way to the cemetery to see the beginnings of the burial ceremony. The man had already begun to weep at the sight of his wife being buried, and Sakura felt the twinge in her chest growing even more painful. She couldn't help but to feel guilty, as if it were her fault that she was trying to do the only thing in order to survive. She looked at the crowd that had formed around the priest, who was reciting the Lord's Prayer and preaching kind words for the man and woman who were being buried. She noticed some women were crying as they too were in disbelief that their friend was a werewolf.

_"Is it really so hard to tell?"_ Sakura pondered.

She wasn't going to cry at the funeral; after all, she didn't know the woman, but she still felt bad for the husband. It began to snow and Sakura couldn't help but think of the irony of the situation as the scene became almost depressing. She heard two men whispering behind her, and she strained her ears to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Where is Uchiha at?" One of the men questioned.

"The blacksmith?" The other asked.

"Yeah, why isn't he here?"

"I think that boy would be tired of funerals. He's been to enough. I don't blame him for not showing up."

_"The blacksmith?"_ She questioned herself mentally. Then she remembered the man at the forgery. She was curious now, but then remembered how rude he was. Perhaps what the men were whispering about explained why he was so bitter. She dismissed the thought; she had no right to intrude on someone's personal life.

The funeral didn't last very long, but Sakura had not noticed immediately that the crowd has begun to disperse. She was thinking deeply about what had happened the other night, and she jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the inn-keeper.

"Nobody blames you. You did what you needed to do."

She smiled, "Thank you, but I was just thinking about something."

He nodded and walked away. Sakura stared at the grave, if she had flowers, she would've placed them on there. She inwardly cursed that it was winter and she longed for the spring.

At the thought, her memories wandered to the previous spring...

* * *

_Sakura and Ino were in the meadow weaving flowers together and gossiping about boys that lived in their village. It was a short conversation; there weren't many men of their interest that lived. Ino had always tried to convince Sakura that she should dress like a proper girl. She laughed at her friend's idea, but had looked to see the most serious face that she had ever seen on the blonde's face. For a moment, she almost took her words into consideration. That is, until both she and Ino broke out into laughter. It was just the way their friendship worked. They couldn't go a day without insults and banter towards each other._

_"You know, Forehead, I swear you get uglier by the day. No wonder no man will tell you the time of day." Ino's eyes flashed with amusement with a smirk on her face._

_"And you think you're much better, Pig?" Sakura fired back. _

_"Oh please, my dad is constantly knocking down boys that knock on our door." She said arrogantly. _

_"Ino, one boy doesn't count" Sakura slyly commented._

_They both again broke out in laughter._

_"Sakura!" Shouted a voice that caused both Ino and Sakura to groan as Naruto came into view. He ended up tripping over his own feet as he raced towards the girls, and they both doubled over again, yowling in laughter. He sat up rubbing the knot on his head, but he stopped when he noticed the girls laughing at him. He stood up and ran over to Sakura._

_"I actually did it!" He shouted happily, making Sakura lean back from him being so close._

_"Did what?" Ino asked in suspicion._

_"I actually told Hinata how I felt." He beamed and Sakura gasped. She was surprised he had actually realized Hinata's feelings for him, and she was proud. Instantly she engulfed him in a tight hug. _

_"S-sakura…I-I can't breathe…" He choked out. _

_Sakura was too happy to let go. She knew that it would happen eventually, and she was relieved to know that it happened sooner than later. _

* * *

"Are you just going to stand there all day?" Someone questioned in a rude tone.

She was annoyed that her memory had been interrupted and she moved to face whoever it was that broke her from her thoughts. She turned to face the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. His hair was a little spiky in the back, and its jet black color shined even though there was no sunlight. His eyes reminded her of the blackness of the night sky, and she felt if she looked close enough, she could see a hint of grey. She composed herself, hoping he didn't notice her falter, and hoped she hadn't been staring too long.

"I was just leaving." She muttered.

"Hn. Well, if you don't mind, I have some business to tend to here."

"Excuse me? I'm sorry; I didn't realize you owned the cemetery." She remarked as she furrowed her brow.

"Actually, I do."

Well, she hadn't expected that. Honestly, she couldn't come up with a counter to it. She decided to not argue with the man, so she moved to head out of the cemetery. She didn't notice that his eyes followed her as she left the burial ground. When she had left, he went past the recently dug up grave, and went to stand before a tombstone with the names Mikoto and Fugaku etched into it. It was his only time he could visit his parents; all he wanted was some privacy.

As Sakura walked into the town, she pulled her hood over her head and mumbling about the jerk in the cemetery, she looked up to see a familiar blond boy ahead questioning someone about something. Cursing, she quickly turned around to try and find somewhere to hide as quickly as possible.

Naruto had caught up, and he was searching all over the town, asking everyone if they had seen her; she inwardly prayed that nobody would reveal that they had. She had pleaded with some people that, if someone questioned them about her, that they say that they had not seen her. She hoped that they would honor her request, and maybe they would, considering she had taken care of their wolf problem.

She noticed hay in a stable by the forge, and figured it would be a decent hiding place given the circumstances. She slipped into the hay, and she hoped Naruto wouldn't think to look there.

She heard his voice coming closer along with another familiar voice. She recognized it as the voice of the guy from the cemetery, and realized that he was talking to the blacksmith.

"Sasuke? Where have you been man?" Naruto asked him, wide-eyed in the disbelief that he had found his old friend.

"Are you really that stupid?" The boy named Sasuke muttered.

"Whatever, look, I really need your help. One of my friends has gone missing and I'm really trying to find her." Naruto pleaded.

"What makes you think that I would know?" Sasuke snapped.

"Look, just here me out. Have you seen a pretty girl with pink hair and green eyes?" He asked.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed; he had seen her earlier at the cemetery, but he understood if she wanted Naruto to find her, she would have revealed herself.

"No," He dead-panned.

Naruto's face fell in disappointment. "Alright then… I guess I'll keep searching." Then Naruto lifted his gaze back to Sasuke, "Thanks for the help." He mumbled sarcastically. He turned around and looked over his shoulder at his old friend before leaving the stable.

Sasuke watched him leave, and, once he was sure Naruto was out of range, sighed with frustration.

"Please get out of my hay." He demanded.

Sounds of shuffling were heard as Sakura clumsily made her way out of the haystack. She was surprised that he had noticed she was there.

"How did you know that I was hiding in here?" She asked a bit bewildered.

He didn't answer, and she flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry, I just –"

"It's fine. Just leave." He said as he walked out of the stables.

_"Thanks for not telling him where I was_…" She wanted to say, but he was gone before she had the chance. She would have to remind herself to thank him later. Now that Naruto would go ahead trying to find her, she could be at ease for a while. She figured she would stay in this town for a little while. After all, she had free months stay the inn.

** …**

During the past month, Sakura had made this town her home. She had gotten over the shock of the wolf hunt, and had started hunting for skins as a source of income, and a way to find something to do around the town. Over the month, she had made a few friends, one being a brunette girl named TenTen, who was remarkably a lot like Sakura in many ways. Tomboyish, stubborn, and a hunter like her. It was nice to have someone who was like her, and it helped her get over her friends at what used to be her home.

It was now the middle of winter, and the temperatures remained as cold as ever; the wind was merciless, and nobody was an exception to the danger of frostbite if they didn't take the proper precautions when they went outside. The moon had been waxing, and the month that had passed helped people get over their nerves about the incident. Many saw it as a sign of good luck, and that the rest of the year would go by smoothly.

Tonight, the moon was full, providing light throughout the whole town, reflecting off of the cobblestone in the road. As of now, Sakura and TenTen were at the inn spending away their hard-earned coin drinking. Laughter escaped from them both, and they were truly enjoying themselves. Both of their cheeks were flushed, evident that they were both drunk, but it was all in good spirit. TenTen stood up, and stumbled over her chair.

"I'm go'n. See ya Sak'ra." TenTen slurred and attempted to walk towards the door.

Even though Sakura wasn't in any better condition, she still worried about her friend walking home alone. The sun had only set a little while ago, but it was still extremely dark outside. Sakura stood up as well, but fell down immediately, so she decided TenTen could handle herself. She stumbled to her room, and pulled out her key to unlock it. After a few failed attempts of trying to find the keyhole, she managed to unlock her door and walked in her room. She shut her door and kicked off her shoes, then looked over and saw her bed. She walked over, lied down, and immediately passed out.

She awoke the following morning on the floor of her room. The cold felt good on her pounding head. She had a bad taste in her mouth, and she assumed it was from the alcohol. The sun shone through the window and she groaned from the brightness of it. Her whole body hurt, and she regretted drinking so much the previous night. She didn't want to move, but she willed her body to stand up; she felt dizzy and her vision blurred. She sat on her bed, and stayed there until the vertigo passed. She held her head as it throbbed, and then heard the front door of the inn open up.

"Luther, I think you'd better come see this." A man's voice shouted, or at least that's what it felt like to Sakura as she winced. She knew he had called for Luther, but she quickly changed her clothes into something warmer, and threw on her parka and boots. She grabbed her bow and strapped on her quiver, as it was becoming routine for her. The man, she recognized, was Isaac. He was around her age, with brown hair and pale green eyes. He was a local farmer's boy, and she did find him attractive, but at times he was rather perverted.

Luther stepped out from his room, yawning.

"What is it, Isaac?" He asked.

"You just have to see this." Isaac urged.

Luther looked at Sakura and she nodded. As they walked outside, Sakura covered her eyes from the merciless sun. Luther chuckled.

"Had a little too much to drink?" He mused.

She lowered her hand and tried to compose herself. "Nope, I'm just fine." She lied.

He laughed; he was unconvinced, and Sakura knew there was no point in trying to argue with someone twice her age that could likely see through her lie anyway. They followed Isaac down the path that led a ways out of the village where his family's small farm was. When they arrived, Sakura immediately felt sick to her stomach.

There were three mutilated sheep, laid next to one another, each of the sheep with a respectable amount of flesh missing from them and their innards strewn away from their bodies. Blood was everywhere, and the five of the remaining flock were running around frantically mewling. Luther climbed over the little wooden fence to go look at some tracks in the snow. He knelt down to examine them, and then scratched his head.

"Well, these tracks look like that of a wolf." He concluded.

"Well, yes, but a pretty big wolf. I mean," Isaac pointed to the tips of the claws, which looked fairly long for a normal wolf, "Look at the length of those claws. Either we have a lone wolf wandering around with a big appetite, or we have another, bigger problem."

"Surely you must be joking," Sakura chimed in, "we took care of the wolf that turned out to be a citizen from the village."

"Who knows? Maybe there's another one now." Isaac argued.

"In fact, there are two." Luther cut in.

Both Sakura and Isaac looked over in the direction where Luther was. There were indeed two sets of paw prints in the snow.

"Well, I'll be damned…" Isaac cursed

"Well, on the bright side, it could be just two wolves hunting together." Sakura said as she too examined the paws.

"I'm still not convinced." Isaac retorted.

Sakura's temper began to flare, "Listen, smartass, I don't need your shit. I'm hung-over, and we can't jump to conclusions. Get it? Got it? Good." She huffed, quite pleased with herself.

Isaac mumbled something, but was lucky that Sakura hadn't heard him.

"Me-ow, someone's a little cranky."

They all turned around to see TenTen leaning against the fence with a hand under her chin. Sakura was baffled on how she didn't seem to be affected by the previous night's drinking. She dismissed the thought, as the question was irrelevant to the current task at hand.

"TenTen, come here and see what you can make of this." Sakura motioned her to come over.

TenTen examined the prints and shrugged. "Looks like two wolves having themselves a feast to me." She said as she looked around at the sheep as well.

"Oh, great, three of my fucking sheep are dead, and none of you give a damn." Isaac fumed.

"No need to get your breeches in a bunch, Isaac." TenTen said.

"If we didn't care, we wouldn't have come to investigate." Luther pointed out.

"Look, I don't care anymore. I just want those wolves dead. We need the wool to make money you know." Isaac kneeled down on the ground to begin picking up one of the sheep.

Sakura noticed that the tracks seemed to cut off over the fence, so there wasn't really anything to follow.

"Sorry Isaac, but there's nothing to track, we'd have to wait until there is something more to go on." Sakura sighed.

Isaac didn't say anything, clearly upset over his loss. Sakura, TenTen, and Luther decided to leave the property, and ask around town if anyone had seen anything.

"I'll go to the blacksmith." Sakura put in, and before anyone could say anything, she had already begun to walk in the direction of the forge. She already knew Sasuke would be there, and over the month, she had begun to crush on the boy. And to most people, it was a little obvious.

When she walked into the forge, she was surprised to see that he wasn't already there working. She still didn't really know where he lived, and if he ever was out, he was working. She decided she would wait for him to arrive, leaning against the outside wall of the forge.

* * *

Sasuke had woken up later than usual. His head was pounding and he didn't really feel like getting up, but that wasn't his way. He forced himself out of bed and ran his hands over his face. His back felt cold and he noted he must've thrown his shirt off in the middle of the night. He didn't quite understand why he had been doing that lately, but it didn't start happening until that girl kept bugging him. To put it bluntly, she was annoying.

Although, he did have to give her some credit; she didn't worship the ground he walked on. No, she was annoying in the way she didn't falter to his glares, and returned his sly comebacks He didn't hesitate to change into different clothes; he had wasted enough time already.

He was already in a bad mood; he was never a morning person, and he wasn't prepared to see Sakura waiting for him at the forge. Great, now she's reduced to stalking…

She noticed him walking up, and came over to him.

"Hey, Sasuke, - whoa, nice hair" She giggled.

He scowled; he had just woken up, and he didn't need any criticism on how he looked this morning.

"What do you want?"

Her face grew serious "Did you happen to hear or see any wolves last night?" She asked.

If he wasn't annoyed a moment ago, he was now. What kind of question was this? Of course he didn't, he had been asleep.

Sakura stood there and assumed his silence was a cold, _"No."_

Sakura was starting to get annoyed as well, and the impact of her hangover wasn't helping either. "Listen, it's a simple yes or no question - Just answer it and I'll leave."

"No." He snapped.

"There, was that so hard?" She cast a fake smile at him.

He took notice of the amount of arrows she had; she was running low. He didn't say anything though, but he made note to make some more for her later. As much as she annoyed him, he felt protective of her. She was different, and deep, deep down, he liked that about her.

She snapped her fingers trying to get his attention back, and he glared at her.

"What now?"

"Are you having a stroke or something? You're just zoning out."

"Go away." He said without hesitation.

She wasn't about to back away just yet, "There's the harvest moon celebration tonight. You going?"

"I don't do celebrations."

"Whatever then." Sakura said as she turned around. If she was hurt by his words, she sure as hell didn't show it.

The ghost of a smirk almost passed at the corner of his mouth. Shuffling sounds were coming from behind Sasuke, and he turned to see who it was. It was the priest, Danzo.

"Danzo." Sasuke said his name with no tone of respect.

Danzo aged face grew stern, "Sasuke, I came to your home last night and your front door open. It's not wise to leave it open for thieves."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I was home."

"Evidently you were not. I called your name, and heard no reply. I also went to check the forge and the stables, and you weren't there either." Danzo added.

"What are you trying to say?" Sasuke asked with annoyance. He didn't have time to play twenty questions; he had work that needed to be done.

"There was a wolf attack last night over by Isaac's farm."

"Get away from my shop." Sasuke snarled as he turned around to heat the coals. He had no time for these games. He had done nothing to that farmer boy's precious sheep. He didn't care if Isaac himself was the one who was dead.

Danzo wasn't ready to leave just yet, "Be careful, you might be next." He warned.

"Next for what?" Sasuke snapped; he turned around, but there was no one there. He scoffed with annoyance. He was very well aware that his door was open last night. He had gone for a walk a little while into the night. That bastard had no right to get involved with Sasuke's business; he had only been gone for a little while, and he didn't hear or see anything. He hated living in this town. It was depressing, but it was the only place he wanted to be. His family practically built this town from the ground up, and he wasn't willing just to throw it all away.

He decided to start working on Sakura's arrows. As he went to pick up his hammer, he hand grazed the edge of a sharp, silver knife. He pulled his hand back and grasped it, looking at the cut. It wasn't deep, but he should've been a bit more cautious around his sharp utensils.

Aside, Danzo had not left the area yet, and unfortunately had witnessed Sasuke retracting his hand from the silver knife, smirking to himself as his suspicions were confirmed.

* * *

The rest of the day went by slowly for Sakura. Around noon, her headache finally disappeared. The people in the town had already began building the bonfire outside of town and the pub was already busy with many patrons ready to get drunk. The moon was extravagant and beautiful as its light lit up the entire town; with the stars littered around it, it was a perfect night for celebrating. After all, even though the harvest moon was unpredictable as to when it would appear, it was a reason for celebration. Nobody really even knew why they celebrated it, but they looked at it as another excuse to drink.

Laughter and merriment filled the town, and everyone began to gather to watch the fire being lit. Someone decided to simply throw a torch, instantly sending the dry wood into an inferno. The townspeople clapped in awe as the flames flicked towards the night sky. Although, Sakura didn't feel like celebrating; she felt like she had done enough drinking last night. The smoky scent filled the air and laughter was all that she could hear. She noticed TenTen already drinking away and Sakura laughed to herself. It was always funny to watch how people acted when they were drunk.

She heard the footsteps of someone coming towards her, and she looked up to see Sasuke.

"So you decided to pull the stick out of your ass and join?" Sakura sarcastically remarked.

He scowled, "I live in this town too."

"I recall you saying you "don't do celebrations"" She slyly commented.

"I don't, I just came to give these to you." He tossed a wrapped bundle of arrows to Sakura. She looked down at them.

"Uhm…thank you."

He said nothing in return as he started to walk away. Sakura looked around, then back at Sasuke's form walking away.

"Wait." She said, and Sasuke turned his head over his shoulder. "Would you mind staying for a little bit?" She asked.

He turned with a faint smirk on his face, "Why? Are you afraid of the dark?"

Now it was her turn to scowl; of course she wasn't afraid of the dark. She huffed and he turned his head back.

"No. I'm leaving." Sasuke said before finally turning the corner in the direction, she assumed, of his house.

Sakura sat there, but after a while, things started to get boring. She didn't care to join in, and she didn't know why she was even looking forward to this thing anyways. She was tired, so she decided head to the inn to go to sleep.

** ...**

Hours later, as the celebration carried on until the late night, a scream broke out, jerking Sakura out of her sleep. She jumped, falling onto the cold, hard floor, and groaned. Quickly, she grabbed her parka and bow. She raced out the door of the inn and ran down to where the bonfire was. The fire had died down to glowing cinders, but she froze at the sight that lay beyond it. A crimson red wolf stood there over an unconscious body; when the wolf took notice of Sakura, it stared at her; its red eyes seeming to glow as the cinders' lights reflected off of them. She felt as if the wolf could see into her very soul. The crowd backed away as the wolf stepped forward towards Sakura. She was frozen in place. The wolf wasn't very large, upon a closer look, just a bit bigger than a normal wolf.

A gunshot was fired into the air, making the crowd gasp and Sakura flinch. The wolf snarled and retreated back into the woods. The crowd turned their head to see Luther with his gun in the air.

Isaac glared at him, "That was the wolf that killed my livestock! Why didn't you shoot it?"

Luther turned his gaze to him and Isaac closed his mouth. Luther was back to his attitude, and that shocked Sakura a bit. Over the month, he had become a cheerful, carefree person to her. She realized he only became short tempered around the signs of a full moon. Maybe it was because his guard was up around this time. A loud roar broke through the air, pulling everyone's attention back to the woods. Standing there was a wolf, much like the one that attacked a month ago, but almost twice the size. Sakura gaped at the sight. The fur matched the color of the other werewolf, but its eyes were a burning crimson red. It snarled and reared up on its legs, standing like a man. The crowd fled, screaming. The wolf stared at her, and Luther fired a shot at it, but it ducked, showing no fear of weapons, its gaze remaining on Sakura. It bared its fangs at her as drool leaked from its mouth.

_"Come with me…"_

Both Luther's and Sakura's eyes grew wide.

"It speaks?" Luther asked bewildered.

Its gaze turned from Sakura and it snarled and Luther.

_"Leave, before I kill you…_' It opened its mouth, revealing large, sharp canines.

Sakura gulped. _"What does it want from me?"_ She was scared. It must've been someone in control; any other feral creature would seize the opportunity for an easy kill. It didn't seem to want to kill anyone. She matched the wolf's gaze, and the moment she did, she felt dizzy. The eyes seemed to spin in a hypnotic way, making her knees buckle as she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Luther noticed this and shot again at the wolf. The wolf growled, and made its way towards Sakura. Luther fired yet another shot; this time it grazed the side of its shoulder. It howled in anger and pain, snapping its head over to Luther and preparing to charge at him. Shouts of an angry crowd made its way towards the area, and with one final glare at Luther, the beast retreated into the woods.

By the time the hunting party had reached the bonfire site, the wolf was gone. Luther was standing with his pistol still tightly clenched in hand. The priest made his way through the crowd.

He cleared his throat, "Gentlemen, that wolf is one of two beasts. That small wolf earlier was not the same one as the beast that attacked Isaac's farm."

"How would you know?" A man spoke up.

He gestured to the prints in the snow; indeed, the wild wolf's prints were much smaller than both prints over by the farm.

"What do you make of this, Danzo?" Luther asked.

Danzo smirked, "There are two traitors that live within this village."

"Then where is the other wolf?" The same man questioned.

Danzo didn't answer; he didn't know. He cleared his throat again, "Let's go visit Sasuke."

The crowd looked around in question, but they followed Danzo. Luther stayed behind, and picked up Sakura to take her back to the inn.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review. Thank for those who have followed/favorited this story already! ~Wahyah**


	3. Wrong Again

_AN:_** Good response on the last chapter. Quite a few things happen in this chapter. I want to know if anyone can tell me who the wolves are. I apologize if it seems a little rushed. Happy reading ~ Wahyah**

* * *

_Wrong accusations  
__Idiotic allegations  
__Dried blood, Golden eyes  
__Someone dies  
__Harmony exists no more_  
_Another lie comes in the door_  
_Everyone feels they are under one big hex_  
_They all fear, "Who is next?"_

* * *

Sasuke awoke to the sounds of banging at his door. Disgruntled, he threw his blanket off and left his bedroom. Whoever was at the door was going to get their ass kicked for waking him up. When he reached the front door, using his un-bandaged hand, he swung it open with more force than needed.

"Who the hell is-,' He stopped when he saw half of the town staring at him on his doorstep.

"You see? The beast's mind has control over his anger!" Danzo proclaimed to the crowd.

"What's the meaning of this?" Sasuke snarled and glared directly at Danzo.

Danzo ignored Sasuke's question as he carried on, "Earlier this day I placed a silver knife by his tools. When he touched it, he jerked his hand back as if touching a hot coal." Danzo preached.

In a swift motion, he grabbed Sasuke's bandaged hand and cut the cloth off, revealing the fresh cut. Sasuke snatched his hand back.

"What of his shoulder? Luther shot the wolf in its shoulder." Isaac stepped in.

Are they joking? Is he really being accused of being a werewolf? To prove a point, Sasuke raised both of his sleeves up, showing no marks.

"You've proven nothing." Sasuke spat.

"Ah, but" Danzo turned back to the crowd, "I did say there were two. Arrest him."

"This is nonsense. These claims are all pretense." Sasuke objected.

"Silence!" Danzo finally snapped, "I witnessed you drawing your hand back from the holy metal as if it were the fires of hell themselves!"

Two men on either side of Sasuke began to advance on him. He noticed this and kicked the man on his left in the gut, while sending a left hook to the man on his right. Two more saw this as an opening and wrestled Sasuke to the ground, placing shackles on his wrists and ankles, immobilizing him.

"Danzo, perhaps we should give him a chance to prove his innocence before we take things too far." A man with white hair and unusually sharp teeth spoke.

"Know your place, boy." Danzo said, turning his head to the man.

"Name's Suigetsu actually, and I'm just suggesting things." He shrugged.

"The evidence is present, but fine. We will hold him, and if he proves he isn't a wolf, we may let him go." Danzo finally agreed. If Danzo wanted to win the crowds favor, he would have to at least seem reasonable. Nevertheless, he was going to kill Sasuke either way.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and his temper flared as he was jerked up by the four men that it took to take him down. The second man was rubbing his jaw while giving Sasuke nasty looks. Snow was clinging to Sasuke's hair and clothes; he suppressed a shiver. As the men took him away, he kept his glare on Danzo, who was smirking.

Sasuke mentally cursed himself that he didn't grab his shoes as his feet began to sting from the snow. He was fuming from these ridiculous and false allegations. How dare they accuse him of something so insane? The men took him on to the path, and the cold stones were almost worse than the snow. It was painful, but he didn't allow himself to show that he was in pain. His feet began to bleed, but he did his best to ignore them; instead, he focused on other things. They were probably going to hold him until the next full moon. Even then, were they even really going to let him go?

The "jail" was hardly ever used, as there was hardly any crime in this town. Well, unless you count back-stabbing priests. The jail remained unwelcoming nevertheless; the red brick was worn, and there was one window in the entire building, which was broken. As Sasuke got closer to the door, he noticed a bush by the front door; ironically, it was monkshood.

"How fitting…" Sasuke thought to himself. When he was shoved inside, he was instantly submerged in darkness. His eyesight didn't even have a chance to adjust as he was thrown onto the dirty ground in the jail cell. The bars rang as the door was slammed shut, and the distinct sound of a lock. Turning echoed through the room.

The sun had not yet risen; when the men left, he was utterly alone in the darkness. He was enraged, being caged like an animal. He sat up; the sound of the shackles ringing made him cringe a little, and he closed his eyes. To make a mess would be pointless, so he decided to wait until morning. Hopefully the idiotic townsfolk would come to their senses.

** ...**

Sakura's head was pounding, it sounded as if her heart was beating in her ears.

What happened? All she remembered was seeing the wolf, and then…nothing. She opened her eyes and instantly sat up. She realized she was lying on one of the benches at the inn. How did she get here?

"Ah good, you're awake" Luther's voice came from behind the counter of the bar.

"What happened?" Sakura asked as she furrowed her brow, trying to remember what had happened just a few hours ago.

"Not too sure. You just look a single look at the wolf and fainted." He shrugged.

_Fainted?_

Her head pounded again at the sight of those wild, red eyes. It had spoken to her, she recalled.

It wanted her.

She held her head as the headache progressed. She was thoroughly convinced her skull was going to implode. She felt something nudge her shoulder and looked up. It was Luther, standing with a tankard in hand.

"Drink this." He gestured toward her again.

"What is it?" She asked as she took it and looked at the liquid inside.

He didn't answer, but she drank it anyway. It was a bitter tasting liquid, but its effects were almost immediate. Her headache went away, and she could think more clearly.

"What happened after I… fainted?" Sakura looked up at Luther.

He didn't answer, and his face grew stern. After a moment he opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, TenTen ran in with all signs of drunkenness gone. Sakura mentally noted herself to ask her what she does to make the side-effects go away. TenTen's wild eyes settled on Sakura.

"They've arrested Sasuke!" She frantically yelled.

Sakura jumped off of the bench as if it were on fire. Before TenTen had a chance to explain, Sakura bolted out the door. TenTen noticed that her feet were bare and opened the door again.

"Sakura! Put on shoes….at least…" She stared as Sakura ran as fast as she'd ever seen.

Sakura heard TenTen's shouts, but didn't care about her feet stinging as they hit the frozen ground. Why had they arrested Sasuke? He wasn't the wolf… At least, that's what she hoped. She ran down the road as fast as her feet could carry her, slipping a few times here and there, but not falling. The jail came into view and she skidded to a halt, which hurt like hell. As she ran over to the door, she began to worry about what had happened to him. She swung open the door and she saw Sasuke sitting as comfortably as if he were at home on the floor.

"Sasuke." She breathed.

He opened his eyes and looked at her, but said nothing.

"What happened? Why did they bring you here?" she asked.

"Oh, I wanted a change of scenery, maybe get away from the forge for a bit." he replied sarcastically.

"This is serious Sasuke! They're saying you're the wolf that has been attacking! ...you aren't, are you?" she asked, fearful.

"Why does it matter?" He asked, "I'm here already, and you don't seem to have much trust in me. Just leave me be. Maybe here I can have some peace..."

"You're being an ass." she narrowed her eyes, "I'm just trying to help."

"I don't need your help. Because everyone else, including you, it seems, already believes I've killed." He replied, glaring back at her.

Sakura said nothing, staring at him. Suddenly, she turned, running from the jail. Sighing inwardly, Sasuke lapsed back into thinking.

Running from the jail, Sakura took no notice of where she stepped, cutting her feet on icy stones and crushing a small bush underfoot. Her feet bled a little, but she didn't feel it. She was hurt because she was only trying to help a friend. Or at least she thought.

She slipped on a patch of ice, and fell. Nobody was there to see, but her feelings, and now her pride, were hurt. She picked herself up off of the snow, and walked back to the inn. It seems that every time she tries to help someone, she messing something up. She shouldn't care, she began to think. Why should she help someone who was so resistant for it? People won't except help unless they want it.

As she walked back inside the inn, she saw TenTen still there by the fire. She stood up at the site of Sakura.

"Well, you weren't gone for very long." TenTen replied, sounding relieved.

Sakura didn't reply. Her feet hurt, and she was still tired. She wanted this nightmare to be over with, so she didn't want to prolong it with any small talk. She slammed the door, and locked it from the inside.

** ...**

Sasuke opened his eyes after a few hours, and saw that the sun had set, with the moonlight shining through the broken window. He saw it was snowing, and the wind was blowing furiously. He shivered; there was much warmth in the cell, other than a blanket that has who knows what on it. He really didn't want to take any risks… He sighed; he knew the people were clearly out of their minds. He wasn't a wolf. He was sure that if he was, he would've known a long time ago. He was hungry, so when he heard the sound of footsteps outside the door, he looked up.

The door swung open wildly, falling off of two of the hinges, hanging on just by the top one. His eyes widened for a second and he scooted back against the wall of the cell. A large white wolf stood there, staring at him with clear intent to kill in its eyes. It slowly walked towards him with its teeth bared in pure aggression. He was a sitting duck; with no weapon or any sure way to keep safe, he would die. All he had was the steel bars separating him from the wolf. It stood up on its hind legs and roared at him, and his heart began to race. Was he actually…scared? It dropped back down on all fours and stared at him, teeth still bared. It was then he looked at its eyes. He knew those eyes, but couldn't place them at the moment.

The sound of the roar must've attracted the attention of someone, because there was a shout near the building. The wolf turned its head, and then bolted out of the door.

The man seemed to notice the wolf, and ran inside to look; probably making sure it wasn't Sasuke that ran out of the door. He sat there with a confident smirk; he had just proven he was not the wolf, and figured out who the real wolf was in less than a day.

** …**

A scream echoed through the night as Danzo was walking to his home. He was proud that he had managed to have Sasuke arrested by sheer will and the support of a few fickle people. He smirked at the sound of the scream. "So Sasuke broke out of his cell." He moved in the directions of the screams, still grinning to himself. He had a damn good reason to get rid of Sasuke; at least, that's what he thought. After Sasuke's parents died, and his brother was presumed to be dead, Sasuke had inherited a fortune. Hell, Sasuke owned practically half the town, and it wasn't fair. A_ boy_ had no need of such vast amounts of responsibility. It should be a crime. If Sasuke is the wolf, Danzo would own everything.

It didn't take long to reach the source of the screams, but when he did he almost retched at the sight.

_Everything _was covered in blood.

The wolf was still eating the remains of its fresh kill, and Danzo was amazed at how unaffected the beast was at the strong smell of blood. The victim's entrails were strewn in all different directions; he couldn't see the face of the victim, but there was a long gash in their stomach. The wolf stopped, and slowly turned its head, looking directly at Danzo. Its eyes were filled with malice, and instinctively, Danzo placed a hand over the silver cross around his neck. He pulled it out, showing it to the beast, and it reared back.

Licking the blood away around its mouth, it stared down at Danzo. Danzo stood, frozen in fear, focusing on the blood dripping from the wolf's claws. Its eyes reflected the shine of the cross, and it settled down on all four feet again.

A gunshot rang through the air, the bullet whizzing by Danzo's ear, and barely missing the beast. The wolf fled; Danzo was trembling as he turned to see Luther with his gun.

"You idiot! I could've been killed! Why didn't you kill it?" Danzo questioned accusingly.

Luther paid no attention to him, walking over to the victim that was, without question, dead. Danzo stilled when he realized who the man was.

It was Isaac.

Danzo snapped his head to Luther.

"Where is Sasuke?" Danzo demanded.

"Sasuke has been human and in his cell this entire night." Luther said pointedly as he kneeled down by Isaac.

Danzo was taken aback.

"Impossible, he must be the other wolf then. He cannot be-"

Luther punched Danzo as hard as he physically could. Danzo barely had enough time to steady himself, and he quickly lifted his hand, nursing his jaw.

"How. Dare. You." Danzo sneered. "Do you realize what I can do? Do you even know who I am to this town?" He threatened.

"You are a conniving, sneaky, bastard of a man." Luther fired back at Danzo. "You are only after Sasuke's wealth; I've known that much from the moment you had him arrested."

"How dare you accuse me of such false allegations? You can't prove a thing." Danzo concluded.

Luther smirked, "No, I can't," he agreed, "but the town can turn against you. You arrested an innocent man; people aren't just going to overlook that." Luther turned his back to Danzo, and Danzo nearly took that as a challenge.

Danzo was fuming as he watched Luther's back. He was left with the acrid stench of blood, a bit nervous he was alone with a dead body.

* * *

Sakura shot up from her bed. Her window was open, and she shivered from the cold wind that was blowing in.

She'd had nightmares all night long, and none of them made sense to her. She was just running, and she wasn't even sure who or what she was running from or if it was her chasing something.

She got up and slammed the window shut. Her temper was still flaring from her short conversation with Sasuke yesterday. She didn't even care whether or not he had even been released. Okay, maybe that was a lie and she knew it. Maybe she had been in the wrong for even thinking Sasuke was a killer, even if the thought had only passed her mind for a second.

Problem was, she didn't really know him that well, but she wanted to understand him, at least. He was more like an outcast in the town, and she wanted to understand why. She just wanted to /understand./

She took a step towards the door and felt a sharp pain in her foot. It felt like someone was holding her foot over a fire. She looked and saw a rash trailing around the bottom of her foot; indeed, it looked more like a burn than anything. It was probably frost burnt from running barefoot in the snow and ice yesterday. She scolded herself as she took each step.

She opened her door to see a familiar pair of onyx eyes looking at her.

"Sasuke?" She asked bewildered. "They let you out?" She seemed relieved.

"Hn. Where's TenTen?" Sasuke demanded, ignoring her question.

"I don't know." She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"She's the wolf." He stated matter-of-factly.

"...You're crazy." She scoffed.

"Oh, I'm crazy?" He snarled. "I'm crazy when the whole town accused me of such stupid…_bullshit._"

"What the hell does this have to do with you thinking TenTen is the wolf?" She raised her voice. "Is this all about you and how your reputation stands in this town?"

"_You_ weren't the one thrown in jail because of pretense!" He fired back.

"For a DAY!" She shouted back at him.

"Well, things don't really change, do they Sasuke?" A voice that was familiar to both of them spoke.

They both looked up to see the inn keeper from the previous town, leaning against the door frame, nonchalantly reading from a book.

"Kakashi." Sasuke greeted.

"Seems there's a wolf problem in this town." Kakashi stated.

"You don't say?" Sakura remarked sarcastically; she was still fuming over the argument.

Kakashi took notice of the burn marks on her foot. "What happened there?" He asked, gesturing to them.

"Oh, uhm…frost burn from running in the snow barefoot yesterday." She answered; Kakashi noticed she wasn't very confident in her answer.

"Hm, and this is why shoes are made." Kakashi remarked facetiously. He noted the burn on her foot mentally.

Sakura glared at him, but said nothing else.

"I figured out who the wolf is, or at least, one of the wolves." Sasuke calmly stated. Sakura was a bit unsettled on how calm he seemed.

"Is that so?" Kakashi asked, still looking down at his book.

"Positive. I saw the wolf's eyes last night. I know those eyes." Sasuke finished.

Kakashi sighed and pocketed his book. "It seems some things that I've taught you just went in one ear and out the other. As the body changes from human to wolf, the eyes do as well; it's almost impossible to tell who the wolf is from appearances alone."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes again, "So you're saying I'm wrong."

"Probably." Kakashi said, deadpan.

Sakura smirked in victory. She was confident TenTen wasn't the wolf; she would've definitely noticed by now.

"Although, a wolf changes every night, and in most cases, if someone is scratched or bitten, it takes a month to tell." Kakashi finished.

"As far as we know, nobody has been scratched or bitten." Sakura added.

"As far as _you_ know." Sasuke snapped his head to her.

"Calm now children. No need to be so hostile to each other." Kakashi drawled.

"We're not being childish." Sasuke and Sakura said in unison.

Sakura cleared her throat and composed herself. "So, are you going to help us find the wolves?"

"That's why I'm here." Kakashi answered.

The sounds of horses whinnying outside drew everyone's attention.

"Ah, Tsunade is here." Kakashi sighed.

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading. Please leave a review!**


	4. Unveiled

**Been a busy week, but I'm glad I actually got to upload something. The wolf is revealed, well at least one of the wolves are revealed in this chapter. Special thanks to my beta reader who tolerates my rants. Also, thank you to those who have reviewed, and thank you for reading my story. Happy reading! Warning...a tad of gore in this chapter.**

Also, in other news, I made a dA account for this fanfiction. I don't know, just wanted to see if anyone could draw how the viewed the characters, the wolves, and perhaps even the scenery. Go to my bio if you want the link to it.

**~Wahyah  
**

* * *

_Ignorance becomes bliss_  
_It's shown true with how each day will progress_  
_The nights seem longer_  
_The words are colder than the night_  
_No wonder why there is no more trust in these times_  
_Everyone must fend for themselves..._

* * *

Everyone snapped their heads to the door.

"I told you this isn't the right town, Shizune!" A voice boomed outside.

"Lady Tsunade, this is where Kakashi said to be, and you've been drinking the whole way here - I'm certain this is where we need to be." A softer, calmer voice said.

"I have not. You took my bottle from me half way through!"

The door opened and two women walked into the inn.

One was a tall, blonde woman, dressed lightly, in a blouse that seemed to aim to show off her chest with a drab green coat worn over it, who had a slight blush on her face, evidently drunk, while the other, darker-haired woman was dressed conservatively, in a dark-grey traveling cloak tied at the waist with a sash.

"Kakashi, what's the idea of having us travel halfway across the country to come to a little inn?" The blonde headed woman demanded, wobbling slightly before getting her balance.

"Relax," Kakashi began coolly, "we need someone like you here to help doctor some citizens and to keep an eye out for suspicious characters."

"So you had me leave my home, come all the way out here, just for a little wolf chase?" She asked, almost annoyed.

"Nobody said anything about wolves." Sasuke cut in.

"Shut it Sasuke. It was included in the letter." Tsunade said, turning her head towards him.

"A letter that took about two weeks to actually get you to show." Kakashi sighed.

"You're the one who is always late." Tsunade slurred, and the other woman, Shizune, Sakura assumed, rubbed the back of her head embarrassed at her partner's conduct.

"Lady Tsunade, perhaps you should go lie down, and we can talk more about this in the morning." Shizune offered.

"It's noon, has she already been drinking?" Sakura asked, bewildered, having finally caught on that Tsunade was drunk.

"Of course I haven't. What do you think I am an alcoholic?" Tsunade stumbled and fell on her rear. Well, it pretty much answered Sakura's questions regarding the older woman's state; Tsunade clearly was not in a sober state of mind.

Shizune sighed with much more exaggeration than needed and helped Tsunade get up to her feet. At that moment, Luther came into the inn, and removed a new cap off of his head, placing it over his heart and kneeling slightly when Tsunade looked at him.

"Lady Tsunade, it's a pleasure for you to be in this…quaint town. Perhaps you would like a drink after such a long travel?" Luther looked back up and noticed Tsunade's flushed expression, "Never mind then." He cleared his throat and made his way over to the counter to fetch two keys.

"Here," He said, handing the keys to Shizune, "go ahead and let her rest awhile. We have some serious business to tend to, and it would be better if she was in her right mind."

Shizune nodded and took the keys from Luther, then lead a stumbling Tsunade to her room.

Everyone in the lobby looked at each other in awkward silence, while Sasuke grew increasingly irritated with the "games."

"We need to get at least one of the wolves. I still haven't been proved innocent." Sasuke muttered bitterly.

"Go eat some snow and cool that temper." Sakura glared at him, slightly aggravated with Sasuke's ever negative attitude.

"Here we go again." Kakashi stepped in this time. "Listen to me; we need to get things organized."

Luther cleared his throat again, this time with a grim expression on his face.

"Well, before we do that, I have some news." His eyes were saddened. "Isaac is dead."

Everyone gasped, except for Sasuke, whose eyes widened for a moment. That news wouldn't help him whatsoever. Almost everyone knew of his attitude towards Isaac, and it would only add to the growing pile of "evidence" for Danzo to manipulate.

"It wasn't me. I was in the cell the whole damn night." Sasuke spat with anger. Even though nobody had said anything just yet, he already felt someone was going to blame him.

Kakashi rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "Nobody is going to blame you, and we all know it wasn't you, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged Kakashi's shoulder, and, turning, stormed out of the inn, slamming the door as he left.

Sakura watched as he left, slightly worried, then looks at Kakashi.

"Leave him be, he'll calm down after a while." He shrugged.

It wasn't much to help, but it would have to do for the time being. At the moment, she was curious about this Tsunade lady. "What is Tsunade here for?" She asked curiously.

Luther was the one to answer, "She's the most renowned wolf hunter there is, and for doctoring skills, there's nobody better than her. It's a blessing that she's here, really."

Sakura took a moment to register the idea. They weren't too bad really, and it wouldn't hurt to have another wolf hunter here to help, especially if the things Luther says she's capable of were true.

* * *

To say that Sasuke was mad was a huge understatement. He was infuriated. He had been confident that TenTen was the wolf, only to be pointed out on his obvious errors, and just as he was so close to having his name cleared, until Isaac had to go and get himself killed. Everything he tries to do goes wrong, it seems. His name was turning more and more to mud as the day goes on, with people still convinced he is the wolf, even though he didn't turn at all during the night. Of course, everyone in this damn town is religious and loyal to the church, and practically bows at Danzo's feet as if he were king. But, why should he care? He doesn't care that it is his name being thrashed around, it's his_ family's_ name being dirtied that drove him to anger.

He's getting tired of being treated like an outsider, as if he has leprosy or the plague. He just wanted to live a normal life, without all the wolf bullshit, without all of the lies, maybe find an average looking girl, and start a family somewhere in life. But no, he has to be thrown into the seventh threshold of hell.

He's muttering a long line of curses as he stomps through the ice and snow; he's beginning to hate the winter, especially this winter. Everything seems to just horribly wrong when it's winter. He runs a hand through his hair, flustered in anger, and he feels like everyone is constantly staring at him as he stomps through the snow. He felt his ears burn red with anger and embarrassment; luckily, the sides of his hair cover them, and even if anyone noticed, they would assume it was from the cold.

The wind whipped around as he walks, and snow began to fall again._ "Oh great, another marvelous event happening."_ If he's lucky, maybe a storm will brew and block everyone inside their house. It would make everything quieter at least.

He stomped to his house to see a ghastly sight, and he felt the color in his face drain. His house was lit up in roaring flames.

_So much for peace, love, and understanding..._

His heart sinks a bit as he watches everything burn. He's slightly thankful that his family's things are hidden elsewhere in the town, but now his house is gone. God forbid he's forced to go back to that inn, but that's not important right now. He wants to know who did this, and the only person that comes to mind is Danzo.

* * *

Tsunade stepped out of her room, quickly recovering from her alcohol swing after a few short hours. She looks around, noticing Sakura still sitting on the bench rubbing her foot, which seems like it has a painful burn on it; she also notices Shizune hasn't left her room just yet. She walks over to the bench where Sakura is sitting, and looks down to her.

"What's your name?" Tsunade asked as she sits by the bench, waiting to examine Sakura's foot.

"Sakura." She quickly says as she moves her foot slightly, sending shockwaves of pain up her body.

"May I take a look?" Tsunade gestures to Sakura's foot.

Sakura quickly nods and winces when Tsunade puts a hand where the burn area is. "What happened?" Tsunade asks, sounding sincere.

"I don't know. I was visiting Sasuke while he was in jail yesterday - we uhm….kinda had an argument, and I ran out." Sakura explained.

"You were barefoot?"

"Yes, I was in a rush when I left."

Tsunade glanced up at her slightly, but looked back down at the wound on her foot.

"Did you step on anything as you were running?" Tsunade continued to question. Sakura was beginning to feel like she was being interrogated, but brushed it off as a doctor trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Yes, I stepped on some kind of bush by the jail."

"Do you have any idea what it was?"

Sakura shook her head, "Maybe you could ask Sasuke. He was there longer than I was, so he might know." Sakura muttered the last part bitterly. "Then I'll go find him and ask. It'll be easier to treat your wound if I know exactly what caused it." She suggests.

Sakura nodded and watched as Tsunade heads towards the door.

As Tsunade steps out of the door, she takes one more look at Sakura, who is still trying to ease the pain in her foot.

**…**

It doesn't take long for Tsunade to find Sasuke. A large cloud of black smoke isn't something you just overlook. As she wandered onto the scene, she saw Sasuke standing over the remains of what was once, she assumed, his home. His hands were clenched in complete anger and he was trembling in fury. She cleared her throat, and he turns around.

"What now." It wasn't not a question, it was a command. He doesn't seem in the mood to be asking questions.

She raised her hands up as a sign that she was not there to cause trouble. "I just have a few questions regarding yesterday."

Sasuke turned back around, looking at the embers of the fire that was almost dead. "I know who did this."

"Do you know? And how are you going to approach this? Reckless, and possibly get yourself in trouble again?" She assumed; he turns to face her with no emotion evident on his face. Clearly, he was not amused, but she wasn't joking either.

"What would you know of this?" He snarls. "I've been living a hell for the past couple of weeks. It's not fair-"

"Life's not fair." Tsunade injects. "But again, I'm not here to get involved with your personal life. I just have one question."

"Then ask it and then leave."

"Was there a bush by the jail you were kept in?" She cuts to the chase, not wanting to anger him further.

"Hn. Monkshood." A short and not-so-sweet answer. "Is that all?" He asks almost dismissively.

"Yes, you've answered all I need to know." "Good. Now leave." He says, turning deliberately towards a certain direction, while Tsunade turns the other way, heading back to the inn.

**…**

Sasuke only had one idea on his mind; he was going to get revenge now for being thrown in jail like a criminal, being persecuted, and now having his house burnt down.

He was going to pay Danzo a quick little, harmless visit, but first, he made a quick stop by the forge. He grabbed a small dagger, made out of silver no less, and made his way towards Danzo's home.

The sun was lowering towards the horizon, and the sky was giving off a pinkish glow, a sign of an upcoming storm. It couldn't come at a better time really, a blizzard or a lot of snow wouldn't be too horrible for this event that was about to take place in Sasuke's opinion. His footsteps were heavy, and he was almost thirsty to see Danzo's blood spill for once. He was tired of being blamed for _every little thing_.

The crunch of snow grew louder and the sight of a rather large home came into view; the sun had nearly set, almost hidden behind a veil of low hanging clouds in the break of an overcast sky. He could see the faint orange glow of a candle lit in the window; he could have smirked. Maybe it would be easy. Maybe it would be quick. Maybe he could get away with it.

Unconsciously, his grip tightened around the dagger in his hands as he stood in front of the door of the man who had taken nearly everything from him, but his own name. Balancing on one leg and gathering as much strength as he can, he kicked the front door completely off of its hinges; the act felt amazing. Danzo, sitting at his table, stood up with eyes wide as ever, which then narrowed to slits at Sasuke.

"You dare defy me in my own home?" Danzo challenged.

Sasuke scoffed, "You've taken almost everything from me. My pride, my home. What's next? My life?" Sasuke challenged in return.

"It's what I've been aiming for." Danzo sneered, making a step in advance towards Sasuke.

They both tensed at the low growling that was heard from behind; Danzo froze in place.

Sasuke wasn't sure whether it was really good reflexes or extremely good luck, but it didn't matter at that time. He ducked an instant before a pair of large, razor-like claws made a lunge forward, landing right in front of Danzo, who was still frozen in sheer terror.

"This is impossible!" Danzo snapped his head at Sasuke. "What witchcraft is this?! You are the wolf!" Danzo denied as much as possible, but Sasuke wasn't even paying any mind. He was busy staring at the wolf that was now inside the house.

As Sasuke made a move, he accidently kicked his foot against a chair, and it screeched across the floor; the wolf turned its head in his general direction. Danzo took this moment as a chance to try and run, and dashed out the door as fast as any man fearing for his life would. The wolf snapped its head back and ran after Danzo.

It was a short chase, and was almost a pity as to how little a chance Danzo had to actually making an escape. The wolf lunged, almost artistically knocking Danzo to the ground, not leaving any wounds; yet. It was like watching a child play with its food, and the wolf seemed to know exactly what it was doing. It didn't even seem to care that Sasuke was now a spectator; the wolf was preparing to do Sasuke a favor.

Kill Danzo.

Danzo pushed his way up off of the ground and made another attempt in running, but the wolf cut him off quickly. It reared on its hind legs and roared inches away from Danzo's face.

Sasuke smirked when a strong scent filled the air. Danzo had pissed himself in fear; he felt a sense of gratitude towards the wolf. It was making his job so much easier, and keeping his name clear at the same time. The wolf took this opportunity and clamped its jaws around Danzo's throat, twisting its head sharply, Danzo's neck making a sickening crunch as steam from the open wound hit the cold air. Blood was dripping off of the white fur of the wolf, staining it ruddy everywhere the blood gushed. It let go of Danzo, and his body dropped to the ground like a rag doll. His jugular still hanging in the teeth of the wolf's mouth, it growled menacingly, looking at Sasuke, but made no advances towards him; instead, it snarled, showing all of its canines as a warning to not get in the way of its food.

It sucked in a large breath of air, and its chest puffed out. A second later, a loud howl boomed through the area, making Sasuke cover his now ringing ears. The wolf no longer paid any attention to Sasuke as it bit down again at Danzo, now severing the head from the neck completely as it rolled it over a bit in the snow. Danzo's eyes still wide open with shock, the wound from the neck was spewing blood on the snow, leaving a small river and tainting the pureness of the ice.

One by one, people showed up and gasped at the scene, the wolf paying no mind as it continued on its meal. The people glanced at Sasuke, and he walked away from the scene - it was enough to clear his name for now.

Luther was the last to show at the scene, and fired off a round immediately at the wolf. The bullet slightly grazed its shoulder; it was infuriated at that moment, and stood up to glare directly at Luther. The wound was sizzling from the burn of steel on the beast, when a tiny pepper bomb landed in front of the wolf. Curiosity took it over, but the bomb blew up releasing the pepper out around the wolf, and it roared in anger, running off towards the woods, bumping into a tree as it ran.

Luther turned and saw Tsunade and Kakashi standing with another pepper bomb in their hands each, looking at him.

A murmur spread through the crowd, people conversing about the death of their priest, their minister, their governor in a sense. It then turned into a loud roar of outrage, confusion, and fear. People were dangerous when they were afraid. Luther fired another shot into the air, drawing everyone's attention.

"Danzo was a corrupt man." Luther began, and almost immediately, cries of outrage began again. He paid no mind to it; he was going to tell the truth. "He arrested an innocent man, Sasuke. You all saw tonight that he was not the wolf, or a wolf at all for that matter. Isaac was in league with Danzo to get Sasuke arrested; they were both after Sasuke's wealth."

"You dare accuse Isaac of greed? Where is your evidence?" Someone in the mob demanded.

Luther reached into his satchel and pulled out a letter. He cleared his throat as he read it off,

"Isaac, I fear if we do not take this opportunity to get rid of Sasuke, our cause will be in vain. This town will fall under his law if we do not do something about this, as he is an heir to this church as well. If I were to pass, my estate would fall to him. Isaac, you know what to do.

-Danzo"

Luther handed the letter to the first person he could reach in the crowd so they too could read it, and again he spoke, "On Isaac's body, I found dried and bloodied clothes in a bag that was resting beside him. I had noticed this, and took it when Danzo was busy feeling sorrow for himself. The crowd said nothing, not even a whisper echoed through the night air. It seemed to have been enough to clear Sasuke's name, and it was all true. Although, there were no more suspects to go through as the wolf, and it seemed as if they were at a dead end.

Luther felt a nudge on his shoulder and saw Tsunade, her rifle in hand and Kakashi with his dagger at her side.

"You ready to go on a wolf hunt?" Tsunade asked with a gleam in her eye.

Both Kakashi and Luther nodded, and the crowd began to disperse, leaving Danzo's dead body in the cold ground.

* * *

Tsunade followed the tracks into the gloom. Later in the night, snow had begun to fall and she cursed under her breath as the tracks began to be covered by the light snowfall. The path was hard to follow even though there was a small trail of blood - nobody could tell if it was trails of Danzo's blood, or the wolf's. After a while, there was no trail to be found.

They decided to call it a night and headed back to the inn, and found Sasuke sitting by the fire in the lobby. It was evident that he had not slept yet due to the circles that were beginning to show underneath his eyes. He was tired, but he would never admit it. His glossy eyes remained focused on the fire that was dying before him; it was as if he were watching a replay of his home burning down in his mind. After all, it was_ his_ home that he had built himself. The time, cost, and effort were an extreme. Nobody could really blame him for being at least a tad pissed off.

Sasuke lazily looked up at the group that had stumbled in the inn, the breeze nearly blowing the fire out completely. He wasn't just tired, he was exhausted. But, it was an exhaustion that came from the stressful events that has happened within these passed weeks. This week alone he's been thrown in jail, his house was burned to the ground, his name was mud for the time being, and no doubt some would feel resentment towards him for the death of Danzo when still everyone clearly knew it wasn't his fault. It was almost enough to make him want to pack what was left in the forge, take his horse and just leave. Almost.

Luther went behind the counter, and everyone heard a slight chuckle. "This is my final key to give. I guess it's high time to add onto this shanty." As Luther held a key in his hand he tossed it to Sasuke, who caught it without much effort.

"Thanks…" Sasuke muttered as he stood up. He was tired, but he wasn't ready to go to sleep…At least that's what his mind was telling him; his body was saying something completely different, and he finally gave in and decided to call it a night. Forget the day being over, he wanted this entire week, this entire nightmare to be over and done with.

As Sasuke closed the door to his room, Shizune emerged from her room, and met Tsunade's gaze.

"Shizune, did you see or hear anything tonight?" Tsunade asked as she took a seat on the bench Sasuke had been sitting at.

"Not around here, but I did hear a howl echo through the town, I had assumed you were already there." She replied, moving to lean against a support beam.

Tsunade nodded, and gazed around the room; it seemed like she was looking for anything out of place. _"Something doesn't feel right."_ She thought to herself as she gazed at Sakura's room. _"Where is Sakura…?"_

* * *

Sakura awoke in the snow, yet was almost completely unphased by it. At least…not yet. The breeze wasn't affecting her at the moment. She knew it was cold, but she didn't _feel _cold. She pushed herself up from the snow; her tattered clothing was barely hanging on her. She winced as she tried to move her shoulder, and gasped when she looked.

A decent sized wound was glowering on her shoulder; it looked like someone had taken a knife and grazed her arm. And it _burned._ She sat up and her eyes widened.

She was in a field a ways away from the town; that wasn't the problem. The problem was that there was dark red blood all around her. She moved her hand to her face, and felt a crust that was like dried drool. She rubbed it off to see it was more blood on her face it was then that the smell of copper became overwhelming. She retched.

What was going on?

Her body hurt, but nothing hurt as much as the wounds on her foot and shoulder. She felt slightly exposed and didn't understand why her clothing was in shreds. Why was she out here…?

The realization almost slapped her in the face. It couldn't be...there was no way. _It was impossible._ She hadn't been scratched or bitten. Hell, the only thing she's done for the past month was hunt every now and then.

She wanted to scream and shout, and let out all of the thoughts and fears running through her mind.

* * *

After a while, everyone but Tsunade went to their respective rooms. Tsunade was busy analyzing, thinking, and putting two and two together. She walked over to the bar and found a bottle of cheap wine, it wasn't exactly as strong as she'd like, but it would have to work for now.

Sakura was the wolf; Tsunade wasn't planning on blurting out her assumptions though. It seems rumors spread like wildfire in this town, and considering what she heard happened to Sasuke, she didn't want Sakura in that predicament; she was too young to be put into that kind of situation.

She opened the bottle, took two good swigs, and then put the cork back into the bottle. She placed the bottle back in her satchel, and, pulling her hood over her head, she walked over to the door. She was going to go find Sakura before someone else did

* * *

Sakura sat down in the snow, not at all buffeted by the dropping temperatures. She was rocking back and forth, trying not to succumb into a crying fest.

She was the wolf. She had killed Isaac and God knows who else.

At least things made more sense now. The black wolf that spoke to her, it was talking to her because she was the other wolf... but why her? Who was the wolf that somehow turned her?

Her mind was swimming with thoughts and conclusions, but none made any sense. Nothing added up to her as to why she was a werewolf. She couldn't let anyone know. She didn't want to die, and that's exactly what would happen if someone were to find out. The overcast sky began to release more snow and she decided to try and stand up, but failed. Her legs were agonizingly painful, and she didn't know whether to cry or laugh, nearly delirious now.

She heard approaching footsteps in the snow and quickly turned her head to the direction of the sound.

It was Tsunade.

"My, my child, quite a mess you've made here." She mused.

Sakura was afraid, she knew Tsunade was a wolf hunter, and she didn't want to be killed.

Tsunade sensed that Sakura was worried and walked over slowly, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you."

"Yeah, you're going to kill me." Sakura muttered.

"Actually, we're going to keep this between me and you." Tsunade offered her hand to Sakura; Sakura looked up at her before cautiously taking her hand.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura almost whispered, with tears building.

"Might be a way to reverse this."

_"Might?"_ A tear escaped Sakura's eye.

Tsunade nodded; she knew that hopes weren't going to be enough to reassure someone who had just found out that they were a monster.

"We need to get back before someone stumbles upon this and sees us." Tsunade insisted. Sakura nodded.

Her body hurt, and she realized that it wasn't from just changing one night, it's what Kakashi said. She's changed every night, and she never realized. It explained why her window was always opened at least.

She hadn't realized how far from the town she was until they were a good twenty minutes into the walk. She knew her feet would likely be bleeding a bit, but she didn't feel it. The cold wasn't affecting her whatsoever, and she was slightly grateful for that attribute. Maybe there was something they could do; maybe she could be normal again. Sakura was terrified of the town finding out that she was the wolf; she knew exactly how they would react, and if Sasuke found out… Hell, he already doesn't trust her; why not give another reason for him not to.

"I think what your wolf sees during the day affects its actions at night, Sakura." Tsunade said, interrupting Sakura's train of thought.

"Huh?"

"Last night... I'm sorry to tell you this, but your wolf killed Danzo. You could've attacked the whole town, but out of everyone, it attacked Danzo, because it knew Sasuke had something against him. Sasuke lost his home yesterday as well, so he went to…settle things with Danzo. You…it…could've killed Sasuke, but it didn't." Tsunade explained.

"Her…" Sakura mumbled, almost incoherently.

"Hm?" Tsunade looked down at Sakura.

"My wolf…she isn't an "it."" Sakura looked back at Tsunade. "Sorry…I...she, apparently gets mad when she's talked about like a..." Sakura paused and then whispered, "...monster…"

Tsunade nodded in understanding.

The inn came into view and Sakura was eager to get inside to try to make it seem as though she had been there the whole night. The sun hadn't risen just yet, so there was a chance that everyone was still asleep.

"We need to find somewhere for you to go when it comes nighttime." Tsunade whispered as they got close to the inn. Sakura nodded.

They would have to discuss it later, when there wasn't a chance of anyone eavesdropping. She feared for her life now. She couldn't make it seem obvious that she was the wolf; she would have to pretend like everything was okay, when it is absolutely not okay.

They slowly opened the door to the inn, trying not to make the door creak as it opened. They were lucky; there was nobody awake just yet. Tsunade went over to the bench by the fire and sat down, gestured with her head to Sakura's room. For some reason, Sakura felt like she could trust Tsunade with her life and, quite literally, this was the case right now.

* * *

Sasuke woke with a start. Sitting up quickly and hitting his head on the headboard. He had always been a light sleeper, but he had forgotten he was no longer in his home, and was frustrated from the throbbing pain on his head. He wasn't going to sit around in an inn. It's just not how he wanted to live. He was slightly at ease knowing that Danzo is now dead, but knew the town was going to resent him for a while, but, he didn't care. He never cared for the people in this town at all, and it was possibly that, that made it worse for him. He just didn't like to be emotional with people in any way, shape, or form.

He stood up from the bed and changed his clothes to go get to work at the forge. He had plenty of money, but he doubt people would even allow themselves to be hired by him at this moment. As it stood, he was currently public enemy number one. He opened his door. Standing there was Tsunade, with her hand raised as if she was going to knock on it.

"Can I help you?" Sasuke asked with a bored tone.

"Yes, I need you to make some iron bars for me." Tsunade answered.

"Fine, whatever it's for, leave me out of it." Sasuke said dismissively, walking past her and towards the door. Tsunade knew it was going to be a yes or no kind of thing, and she was a little thankful he didn't feel like asking any questions.

Sasuke left the inn with no more words, and stalked his way through the town. Murmurs were all he heard as he passed people, yet he didn't even bother to listen. He heard something of a puddle of dried blood in a field somewhere near town, but it didn't concern him. Not anymore. His name is cleared, but only at the cost of everyone hating him. Not that it mattered, he preferred it that way. This way, people were less likely to bother him, and people always need tools sharpened, so the cold shoulder wasn't going to affect his business.

This week was over, but another was on the way. He almost didn't want to know what was in store for this upcoming week, and he didn't want any part of it. Although, deep down he knew he would be drug into it no matter what. It seemed like a constant tug of war between sane and insane. So far…insanity was winning, and it was evident that the whole town was beginning to seem more like an insane asylum.

* * *

**Please review~**


	5. Bark At The Moon

**Good evening Ladies and Gents, Freaks and Geeks, Narutards and Derps alike. I'm sorry that this is late, had a very busy couple weeks. I'm working my way to work on this as much as possible. Basketball season has officially started, our first game was this Tuesday with a W of 70-63. Thank you for all the views and those who have reviewed. Please keep reviewing, it lets me know what's right and what's wrong. It also lets me know if you like the story or not. Please and thanks.**

~Wahyah

* * *

_Is there something you see  
That lies deep within me  
Do you even really care to see into my soul?  
Because I feel I don't have one at all  
Do you dare judge me of the actions of my past?  
Those are just memories and those never last._

* * *

"Drink this."

"No."

"Drink it."

"Damn it. No!"

_"That's it!"_

A scuffle broke out between Tsunade and Sakura. Over the past week, they had been trying various, often bizarre, "remedies" to try and cure Sakura. Most of the remedies made Sakura feel closer to death than anything, and she was not yet ready to try another, possibly toxic, tonic or tincture of God knows what. Being that both women had terrible tempers; scuffles like these broke out quite often, leaving many people staring in confusion.

They had developed a way to keep Sakura from getting out of her room when she shifted. Even then, it took Sasuke a few days to finish making the bars, charging Tsunade an outrageous amount the whole while; the wolf, miraculously, didn't try to escape in the meantime.

Sakura had also learned that, from the moment she realized that she was a wolf; she could hear it, in a way. It baffled Tsunade, but it became clear as to why most of the wolves she had hunted, whenever they had returned to a human form, complained about a voice in their head to their families. Tsunade had begun to take notes on Sakura's behavior after night fell. She noticed that Sakura would become easily aggravated, well more than usual, and that she always fell asleep before she changed; of course, Tsunade watched this happen from the other side of Sakura's window. The fact that Sakura changed every night and often never knew confused Tsunade as well; she had always heard that the wolves only changed on a full moon, and that the pains were excruciating when shifting from human to beast. Tsunade had asked Shizune for some books regarding werewolves, and Shizune did her best to find some without thinking much of it being suspicious.

Tsunade didn't understand why she felt the need to help this one person, when she had killed many more before. Perhaps Tsunade liked the idea of finding a cure, with which she could prevent more unnecessary deaths. In all honesty, she hated killing people; in the end, that's all they were, _people_, just with an unfortunate curse. She wasn't ready to kill another person, even if it meant it could save more lives if she didn't let Sakura live. But perhaps, just a touch, the girl reminded Tsunade of herself.

In the meantime, Tsunade had successfully pinned Sakura down, and refused to get off until Sakura drank the liquid. She gave up fighting and drank it, immediately gagging and beginning to cough. The liquid tasted like sulfur and was unbelievably bitter.

"Are you sure you're not actually _trying_ to kill me?" Sakura gasped between fits of coughing.

"If you would just drink it, we wouldn't have this problem."

"What problem? Me coughing my lungs up?"

"Stubborn jackass."

"Degenerate alcoholic."

"Spoiled brat."

"Old bat."

"Why you little…"

They both heard someone clear their throat and they both looked up to see Shizune standing in the doorway with a stack of papers in her arms, and her face was the definition of confusion as to what the hell was going on. They were arguing so loudly, they hadn't heard her open the door, and they both felt embarrassed.

Shizune decided that it was probably best not to ask, and walked over to set the papers down on a bench. She cleared her throat again, "I have some papers in regards to wolf sightings."

This surprised Tsunade, but her face didn't show her internal expression. She had forgotten that Kakashi had mentioned there was another wolf. Sakura on the other hand remained calm as she picked up one of the papers. To her fears, the sightings were of a large black wolf, most likely they one that had spoken to her, but that sighting was only one night according to the document.

Sakura's mind drifted as she heard the unmistakable voice in her head. The voice was distorted and incoherent most of the time, but her wolf stirred most of the times Tsunade had given her medicine, seemingly agitated by the attempts to _kill_ it. Sakura almost felt guilty about it. She felt attached to the wolf, but she didn't want to be something that killed senselessly. Especially since she was a part of the reason Sasuke was hated by the town and cast out. She felt bad about her uncontrolled actions; even though she knew it wasn't really _her_ fault. She heard the wolf whimper in her subconscious.

Sakura set down the paper and Tsunade picked up the stack. She proceeded to her room with a scowl on her face. She hated doing things that involved paperwork. Shizune followed after her to make sure that Tsunade would actually get her work done, instead of getting drunk.

Sakura remained standing in the lobby, having to ponder about her next move. Sundown wasn't for a while so she had time to go venture, or perhaps go talk with TenTen. She had kept up with her for the past few weeks, but Sakura feared being around people for long periods of time. After seeing the blood around the area where she had killed Danzo - and the blood that remained on her face the following morning - she feared getting too close to someone she cared for. She wouldn't know what she would do if she killed a friend.

A few moments later, Sasuke barged into the inn with his usual brooding attitude. Sakura began to wonder if there was a switch that got stuck, causing him to be in such a pissy mood all of the time. She recalled the event when Naruto had came through the town and actually seemed to know Sasuke. She wondered if maybe there was a history between the two. Perhaps there is a lot more to Sasuke that Sakura does not know about. Of course, she was aware that his entire family was deceased. But how? What happened to make an entire family just be so easily wiped off the face of the earth, leaving just one person to live in suffering in its wake? It was baffling to say the least.

Sasuke's scowl deepened when he pulled his hand up; Sakura noticed blood dripping from a deep gash in his palm. It was probably an accident when he was working in the forge.

Sakura sighed and reached in her bag, pulling out a cloth to use for bandaging him. Her wolf stirred at the sight of the blood, and Sakura didn't know if it was a good sign. She went against her instincts and walked over to Sasuke. He looked at her, clearly not in the mood for conversation. Then again, was he ever?

She ignored his glare and began to wrap his hand. Instead of pulling back and complaining like a child, he allowed her to finish, only wincing when she tightened the bandage to stop the bleeding.

"Why do you care?" Sasuke questioned; it wasn't a demanding question. It was more of a question to his self. He was honestly unsure as to why Sakura still helped him when the whole town hated him for things he wasn't guilty of, and how she hardly knew him other than his, dare he say, kind gestures to look out for her safety.

"Because…you've done nothing wrong." Sakura said softly, feeling a little uneasy of Sasuke's gaze on her.

"Hn."

And that was it. He carried on to his room, shutting his door. It was an answer to his question, but it was an answer that sounded laced in guilt. What would she have to feel guilty of? Perhaps she wanted to go back home to wherever she came from instead of being here in what felt like the seventh threshold of hell. Either way, he was bound to figure it out eventually.

* * *

"My, my, how the tables have turned." A smooth, arrogant voice echoed through the darkness.

"Well, we knew Danzo was too much of a fool to keep himself alive for much longer." A second, more feminine voice spoke up.

"Indeed; but, he was a decent pawn in our little game to get us where we needed. " A third voice said, much deeper than the voice of the first. "So what of the girl?"

"Her creation was a mistake, but perhaps she could be of some use." The first voice replied.

"And of Sasuke?" The third voiced asked cautiously.

"What of him?" The first voice said, in an annoyed tone.

"You mean to say that you are not worried about the boy?" The second voice questioned.

""No need to be. His path will be made clear in time." The first answered back calmly.

"So, what do we do until then?" The third voice asked.

"We wait."

A chuckle echoed through the areas of the dark room.

* * *

Night had once again fallen, much to Sakura's despair. To her, it was like being a prisoner at night, barricaded and locked in a room. She was amazed that the wolf had not yet broken through the door.

Tsunade had stepped out of her room, and nodded to Sakura in a gesture that it was almost time. Sakura waked into her room, locked the door, and then breathed a heavy sigh.

_"Must it happen every night?"_

Tsunade had already stepped outside; she was still amazed at how the body changed, and was eager to take notes and learn more.

Sakura blew out the candle on the dresser and took in a huge breath. Her body felt heavy and soon the dire need for rest overwhelmed her. She succumbed to the need, and the darkness of sleep overtook her.

It was terrifying and exciting at the same time to watch a werewolf change - and Tsunade was no stranger to the emotion, having seen many transformations before - but the way Sakura transformed was almost beautiful. The wolves that Tsunade had seen shift looked gruesome and unbelievably painful in every stretch of the imagination. The bones would twist and contort in various directions, and the spine made a sickening, cracking sound. The wolves would usually yowl in pain and beg for it to stop. The main thing that fascinated her still was that all the wolves that she had seen so far had changed only during the full moon. But with Sakura, it was different. It was a quick process, much like watching a flower open up to the first signs of spring. If you didn't pay close attention, you might miss something that wasn't there before.

It started with the hands and feet, slowly changing from fingers and toes to less humanoid, wolfish claws, the mouth then lengthening into a muzzle and the ears growing to a point. The tail seemed to be the most painful, at least to Tsunade, and the fur grew gradually with every change. The change that night overall took about ten minutes, until the wolf had fully replaced Sakura's delicate form.

Its eyes opened, the amber eyes definitely having replaced Sakura's normal emerald greens. It was a creature born from only a single bite or scratch; it was fascinating to Tsunade, who had spent a lifetime learning of the human body and its capabilities.

The wolf glanced out the window, right at Tsunade. It was a tranquil stare, and it appeared more like a lost child seeking guidance than a bloodthirsty killer. It was a creature, like actual wolves, that acted on impulse and instinct. Perhaps it could be trained, or better, controlled by the person who harnessed the spirit. Did it feel? Did it have control over the human mind fully when it shifted? What would it take to /cure/ it?

Tsunade couldn't stand outside for much longer. She had to get back inside in case someone began to wonder where she was. She would have to cover for Sakura; they both knew what would happen if the town found out. Would they be so barbaric as to burn her at the stake like a witch, or shoot her like a damn dog? The thought of seeing Sakura killed made Tsunade nervous; she wasn't going to let it happen.

**…**

Sasuke had taken the opportunity, while Tsunade was absent, to sneak into her room to look at the documents he had overheard them talking about before they came in.

He had been trained to be a wolf hunter long ago by Kakashi, but stopped at a young age, thinking it all to be nonsense. He was actually reconsidering his decision now, partially wanting to be a part of the hunt. He needed both wolves dead to regain his respect in the town.

He heard the sound of the front door opened and quickly swiped a few off of the stack. He managed to sneak out of the room without being caught and make it to his room.

He peered at the document in his hand and started to read what was written. Whoever had written it had terrible penmanship, so it was difficult to read. He skimmed through it, not really paying attention to what was entailed in it, but he paused when he recognized a date. The date was listed as a sighting ten years ago. The same date when his family was massacred.

* * *

_"Itachi!" _

_Itachi stopped walking and turned to face the little boy that was following him. He sighed heavily. His brother loved to come with him wherever he went. It wasn't that it annoyed him; in fact, he loved his brother to death, he was still so…naïve. _

_"Brother, guess what?" Sasuke's small face beamed up at Itachi's nonchalant stare. _

_"Hn?" _

_"Kakashi gave me something really cool, he said that Father had one when he was younger." _

_Sasuke reached in his pocket and pulled out a small pocketknife. It was not much of a weapon, but still it was enough to make a small boy cheerful. It worried Itachi to an extent; his brother was still a little clumsy, and a sharp object in his hands might prove to be a bit dangerous, but he wouldn't take it from him. It was not Itachi's place to do so. Instead, he motioned for his brother to come closer._

_Sasuke did so with an excited smile, and when he reached Itachi, he was poked in the forehead like usual. Scowling, Sasuke rubbed his forehead that now had a small red mark where Itachi's fingers had prodded.  
"Be careful with that knife. You could hurt yourself." Itachi said. _

_"Brother, you always do this. I tell you something fun that happened today, and you poke my forehead, and tell me that I'll get hurt, and-" _

_Another poke._

_"You talk too much." Itachi turned around and continued heading home. He paused again when he heard little footsteps behind him still trailing. "Go bother Naruto." _

_Sasuke huffed, but knew it was a lost cause to argue with his brother. He didn't really want to go "visit" Naruto right now. The kid annoyed even Sasuke; he was always so arrogantly confident, even though Sasuke was the one who was crowded by the village girls all the time. Despite that, he was curious to find out if Naruto had found anything cool to track today. _

_With that thought, Sasuke took off full speed towards Naruto's home. Itachi smiled as he too carried on his way home. _

**_…_**

_"Sasuke! Come look over here." Naruto's expression changed to that of pure excitement; when Sasuke came over to look, he couldn't help but grow a little more excited too. _

_There were two wolf prints in the snow; they both knew it was late to be outside, but to Naruto, sneaking out was way more fun than being asleep in a nice, safe home. _

_Of course they were going to follow the tracks. There were two wolf tracks, a kill for each to take glory in. Although, Sasuke had never seen an actual wolf paw yet, and from the look of the tracks in the snow, they seemed enormous. But if you thought that would faze the two boys, you thought wrong. Like all young boys at the age of eight, they thought they can take on the world three times over._

_The tracked the prints through the snow, their faces slightly in awe at how many gashes there were in the trees; as they went, the tracks seemed to grow even larger in size. Without warning, a loud howl broke out; the two boys both looked at each other, but neither showed that they were a little frightened._

Soon, though, the thought of actually finding the wolves made Naruto scared enough to get past the thrill of tracking them.

_"Maybe we should go back…" Naruto's voice wavered a bit. _

_"What's wrong, scaredy cat?" Sasuke teased. _

_"Am not! I just…I'm tired." Naruto lied quickly._

_"Fine. Let's both just go home." Sasuke finally agreed._

Naruto turned back and started to head home, but Sasuke remained, looking in the direction the tracks headed. Naruto may be a wimp, but that didn't mean Sasuke had to be. The tracks lead near the area around his house, so either way, he would be close to home if something happened. 

_The clouds had covered the moon, leaving the forest darker than it appeared. The shadows of the trees had disappeared with the moon, and Sasuke began to feel a little nervous. He fought back his fears and carried on, following the tracks._

_The gashes in the trees were getting deeper and the paw prints turned more humanoid. _

_"This isn't normal." Sasuke said to himself, pausing when he saw the paw prints lead to his house. The candlelight was still shining in the window, but Sasuke felt something was wrong._

Nervously, he approached his home, freezing when he heard something move inside. Perhaps it was his mother? But why did something feel so horribly wrong if it was? 

_He choked back his fear and opened the door. _

* * *

A knock sounded on his door, snapping his mind back to reality and away from the memories of a horrid past. Quickly, he put the documents in his top drawer and walked to his door. He opened it to see Kakashi standing there. He said nothing, instead gesturing for Sasuke to follow him.

They walked outside, heading down the path.

"Things have gotten a bit quiet." Kakashi said in his usual monotone voice.

Sasuke nodded; it was a little odd that things had settled down as soon as Danzo died. There had been no signs of the wolf at all lately. Although, the thought of another sighting of the black wolf almost made Sasuke shiver a little.

"I want back in." Sasuke finally spoke.

"Hm?" Kakashi asked, uncertain as to what Sasuke was talking about.

"Hunting."

"Ah. Finally decided to follow your father's footsteps?" Kakashi noted.

"Tch. A path that got him killed by the very thing he hunted." Sasuke growled.

"That wolf is long gone. It disappeared that night; I must say, I'm amazed you still remember what it looked like with you being so young at the time."

"How could I forget? It took everything from me. My mother, my father, my…brother…"

They both paused when they reached the woods on the outskirts of town.

"I'm sorry about what happened that night. I couldn't make it there quick enough." Kakashi sighed.

Sasuke said nothing, but his ears twitched as he strained to hear anything. If there was anything near at least.

There was nothing but the chill of snow, and the howl of a wind. Nothing around to see what could happen, if anything would happen. It made Sasuke's anticipation die down a bit as he realized he was actually eager for something - _anything_ - to jump out and give him something to take his anger out on. All of the rage he barely realized he had bottled up came rushing to him just now.

He wasn't one to act out, showing his feelings on his sleeves, but he wanted to _feel_ every once in a while. Perhaps going out wolf hunting would be good for him, but the only way to find out was to act on it.

He looked at his old mentor and Kakashi nodded, as if knowing what Sasuke was thinking.

Kakashi reached in his back pocket, pulling out the pocket knife that he had given Sasuke when Sasuke was younger. Tossing it in the air, Sasuke swiftly caught it without having to look away from the snowy landscape in front of him. The air around his mouth fogged more as he released a deep, inner sigh that he had not realized he had been holding. Perhaps it was time for a bit of a change, and hopefully for the better.

* * *

Lazy arms were wrapped behind his spiky blond hair as Naruto laid in his bed at an inn near a village not far from the one he had seen Sasuke in. He was fully aware Sakura had not traveled far from home. He _knew_ her better than that; besides, he had noticed her horse by the inn down the road, so he decided to stay close for a while and let her settle things on her own. She was almost old enough to make her own choice, and damn old enough to scare the hell out of everyone by taking off in the middle of the night.

He was fully aware of the wolf attacks on the village, but the surrounding towns had problems as well. Not that it really worried Naruto; he knew Hinata would wait for him if he was gone for a few months - it had nearly been two months since he had first left his home town.

Honestly, he wasn't sure how long he was going to keep this wild goose chase up, but it wouldn't be long before he made another appearance in Sakura's new home. It just needed time, and she needed to realize that _home_ is the best place for her. Her friends and family were there, and sure, Sasuke was once Naruto's friend once upon a time, but that was the past. He had tried to convince Sasuke to come live with them in the same town, but that was clearly out of the question.

He sighed again heavily as he stared up at the ceiling from his dusty bed at the inn. He had travelled to the next town over to rest after speaking with Kakashi a few days ago. Kakashi had agreed to keep their visit a secret, and Naruto knew that he wouldn't delve into things he had no business in. Although, Kakashi had told him that Sakura was partnered with some old bat named Tsunacha or something. It was only going to prolong Sakura's little rebellion, and it was a bit annoying. He was almost ready to go home, but he wasn't one to quit either.

He felt he had a duty as her friend and for her family. Honestly, he couldn't imagine being without one of his best friend's smiling faces forever. Well, Sasuke was once his friend, but the guy never smiled much anyways…

Deciding to get up, he walked out of his room and waved a goodbye to the woman who ran the inn. This town was boring, but staying in bed all day was even worse. Hell, not much he could do in this town without the fear of getting in trouble. Guess the wolf attacks had gotten everyone nervous. It even made Naruto a bit nervous for himself; if people knew he was a born wolf, he would be killed on sight. Even though he wasn't one of those monsters that changed without will, he knew nobody could possibly understand.

Naruto could speak to his inner wolf like any other creature like him; normally the wolf was in a bad mood when Naruto attempted to do so. At times his temper flared more - when he felt endangered and his instincts lashed out more - but other than that, he had complete control over himself. Unlike other wolves, he could hold silver and bathe in holy water if he wanted. Still, with the fear of the other wolves seeping in through the town, it was probably best to keep that to himself.

But in the meantime, a good run actually sounded good. He wandered a bit deeper into the surrounding woods, hoping, perhaps, that he would run into Sakura. He could pass as a large dog with his unusual crimson fur, but with seeing the large black werewolf a while ago, he was a bit nervous to go near the town Sakura stayed.

The woods were full of life today, actually. A small fox stalked a mouse hidden in its burrow in the snow, and a doe eyed Naruto carefully, but didn't immediately run away. It was less than what he was used to seeing, but he couldn't blame the fleeing of animals with all the wolves around, and he didn't just mean the wild ones.

When he was deep enough he was sure he wouldn't be noticed, he undressed, folding his clothes neatly into a pile on top of a rock. Mentally, he made his hands shift first, the fingers shortening to wolf paws, the nails following suit. Fur was next into the shift, slowly but surely covering his body, then his face lengthening into a wolf muzzle, yawning as it did so. His tail came last, but it was the fastest thing to shift.

He did what he loved to do in the snow, and buried his face deep into it, the cold, crystal flakes covering his entire face, nearly giving him a brain freeze. He laughed inwardly, removing his head from the snow and shaking it. He turned his head to see the doe staring at him.  
He stared back; he was childish when he was in his wolf form. He enjoyed it, and it was a free pass to act however he wanted. He got bored quickly and sprinted off in a random direction he just happened to be facing. He didn't honestly care where he went, but as long as he was running, he would be happy. He wondered if he should ever actually tell Hinata about his little secret. Sure, she had a right to know, but what would she do? What would she say? Would she leave him?

The thought of Hinata breaking up with Naruto made him panic a little, but something deep inside him knew she wouldn't do such a thing. And if they did go off and get married, what would be of their kids, if they had any. It would be a tad difficult to explain why a toddler suddenly turned into a wolf pup and ran around, nibbling at their ankles.

He snorted at his own thought.

It wasn't farfetched. He was able to change when he was little, but he would never honestly know how little. His parents had disappeared, and he was raised by a family friend, Iruka. Iruka knew of Naruto's "gift" but he didn't judge him by it, and still treated him like a normal person. Which Naruto was extremely thankful for.

He picked up speed, kicking up more snow as he went. Winter was the best time of year for him, simply because it was the most fun. A familiar scent wafted into his nose, and he headed in the direction. He skidded to a halt as he came into a view of a field.

He saw Sakura, with some blonde woman next to her. He snorted, thinking that must be the Tsunanana person Kakashi said something about.

Casually, he lied down and observed to see what they were doing.

* * *

"What do you mean try and make myself change?" Sakura shot a befuddled look at Tsunade.

"You heard me." Tsunade's stern voice made it clear that there were no objections.

Sakura gave in; she knew trying to argue with Tsunade was a losing battle. She sat on the snow, the cold not fazing her, and crossed her legs. She began to control her breathing and slow her thoughts, emptying her mind.

"What do you see?" Tsunade asked after a few moments.

"Nothing." Sakura replied in a relaxed tone.

Tsunade remained quiet, and Sakura slipped further into a trance. It seemed easier to clear her thoughts, and a vision came to her mind. She felt numb being so fully relaxed, but her mind was very active. The vision became even clearer, and she realized she was in a meadow of sorts. The colors seemed more surreal than normal, and the sounds became more of a surrounding force.

It was spring, it seemed.

A small wolf emerged from the thicket, its white fur seeming to balance the array of colors surrounding it. It stayed there at the edge of the trees, and Sakura tried to approach it, but it ran off as soon as she moved.

Opening her eyes again, she looked around for Tsunade.

She was lying in the snow, seeming almost asleep.

"Uhm…Tsunade?"

She shot up, "I wasn't sleeping."

"I saw something."

* * *

**Please let me know if there are any errors or any confusion and I will gladly clarify anything. I'm sorry it seems a bit short, but I did want it longer than this. I'm working on longer chapters. Anyhow, thank you for the read.**


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